The Third Team
by I'mNotGivingMyNameToAMachine
Summary: Jinx, Kid Flash, Argent, Hot Spot, Herald, Jericho: They are the symbol; they are the heroes; they are the hope. They are The Third Team. *KF/Jinx, Hot Spot/Argent*
1. Baseball is Boring

"Okay, okay, fine. Fine. I'll tell one... A Priest, a Rabbi, and the Phillie Phanatic walk into a bar."

"What in the bloody hell is a Phillie Phanatic?" Argent raised an eyebrow.

Kid Flash sighed. "He's only the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies! Come on, now!"

"The who?" Jinx asked.

"What do you mean 'the who'? Are you serious?"

"Never heard of them," Herald stated.

"What is that? Is it like a Gentlemen's club?" Argent asked.

"No, no, no! Dammit! Does anyone know who the Philadelphia Phillies even are?" Kid Flash looked around the room pleading with someone, anyone to know who he was talking about.

Um, no," Jinx replied dryly.

"Haven't a clue, mate," Argent shrugged.

"No," was all Herald said.

"I think so..." Hot Spot muttered.

Kid Flash turned to him. "Dude, take a stab at it. If you get it right, I will literally go out right now and get you the biggest chocolate chip cookie I can find."

"Is it a soccer team?"

Kid Flash sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No, Spotty, but you're in the ballpark. Which is nice. Come on, Jericho, help me out here! You know who the Phillies are, right?"

Jericho just smiled, shrugged, and shook his head.

"Oh, for the love of... Nevermind, then. Joke's ruined," Kid Flash sighed again. "It was a good one, too!"

"Well, who are they?" Jinx asked.

"It's a baseball team! In Philadelphia!"

"Mate, there ain't a lot of baseball in New Zealand," Argent stated.

"Plus baseball is just so boring!" Jinx exclaimed.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Please tell me you did not just say that." Kid Flash looked horrified.

"Baseball. Is. Mega. Ultra. Boring," Jinx said, smiling wickedly.

Kid Flash held his chest as though he'd been stabbed. "Ah! Fair maiden, you have slayed me with your awful words!"

Jericho laughed silently, while everyone else grinned a little.

"But seriously, we'll work around this little... obstacle," Kid Flash said. "I'll just ignore it."

"Oh, will you, now?" Jinx smiled again.

"I shall do my very best, good lady, " Kid Flash added a dramatic air to his voice. "It shall be a difficult road to tread, being with someone who despises the Great American Pastime, but I shall somehow prevail."

"Whoever said we were together?"

Kid Flash smiled. "Me. You just don't know it yet."

"You want us all to leave the room while you sort this out?" Argent asked, smiling.

"Nah. We're done. For now." Kid Flash winked at Jinx. "Plus Boy Wonder should be here any minute now."

"Yeah, where is he?" Jinx asked rhetorically, glad for the subject change.

Kid Flash shrugged. "Probably with Starfire. Does anyone know what went down in Tokyo? Ever since they got back, they've been gaga over each other!"

"They're together now," Argent said.

"They are?" Hot Spot asked.

"True story," Argent nodded.

"Well, it's about time at any rate," Jinx added. "They've been looking at each other like schoolchildren with crushes ever since I've known them."

"That's all well and good," Kid Flash said, "but he's keeping me waiting, trapped in a room with a bunch a baseball illiterate people! That's just rude!"

"I'm just crying for your plight," Jinx traced the path of a tear down her check with a finger.

"You should be, Miss 'I Hate Baseball'."

Jinx just smiled.

A few moments passed in silence.

"Man, this room is so depressing!" Kid Flashed looked around the conference room, placed in the corner of the original Titans tower. "It could use a couple of plants or something. Hell, even a twig would lighten this place up..."

This illicited some scattered laughter from the group.

"It's a conference room, Flash," Hot Spot said, grinning. "That is stastistically like one of the most depressing rooms possible."

"Evidently," Kid Flash muttered. "Right up there with a gas station bathroom."

"Or a prison. In Turkey," Argent added.

"That was a damn good movie," Kid Flash nodded.

"Or in a McDonalds where they speak no English and screw up your order," Hot Spot smiled.

"Man, am I sick of that..." Kid Flash agreed.

"Or anywhere in a baseball stadium," Jinx said, glancing at her nails.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Kid Flash stared. "Because it's working."

"Yeah, they're in love," Argent said to Hot Spot, Jericho and Hereld.

Hereld and Jericho simply nodded while Hot Spot said, "Looks like it."

"We are not!" Jinx said.

"That's just your opinion." Kid Flash smiled.

"We aren't!" Jinx looked at Argent, who raised her hands defensively.

"I just say what I see."

Jinx was about to respond when the door hissed open.

All six Titans turned to see Robin entering the room.

He smiled at them.

"Good morning, Titans."


	2. Second Chance

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," Robin began. "I had important matters to attend to."

Kid Flash coughed loudly. "Starfire."

Robin raised an eyebrow, as he stepped into the room. The door hissed closed behind him, and he continued on without acknowledging Kid Flash's remark.

"Let me begin by thanking you all for volunteering for this. I'm well aware of the sacrifices you'll have to make and the responsibilities you'll have to assume. I can only hope you are all aware of them as well. If you have any doubts about this commitment, you're still welcome, and encouraged, to back out now."

Robin paused, giving the group time to ponder this.

"I'm serious about this. I need you all to be completely on board. If there are any, and I mean any doubts in your mind about any of this, I need you to come clean about them."

"Robin, with all due respect," Argent said smiling. "Shut the hell up."

"Ditto," Kid Flash nodded. "Girl took the words right out of my mouth."

"I'm committed, that's for sure," Jinx added. "You all have given me a second chance to be somebody, to make some sort of difference. I'm not blowing that opportunity."

"Ditto," Kid Flash muttered.

"You know I'm game, man. I mean, come on," Hot Spot said. "Look at how much fun you guys have. Being in a team, that's where it's at."

"I'm in," Herald said.

Jericho just smiled, nodded once, and gave a thumbs up.

"Ditto," Kid Flash said, copying Jericho's thumbs up.

Robin smiled. "Good."

He moved to the large oval conference table that the six Titans were sitting around, and hefted a silver briefcase he had been carrying onto the table before he to sat down at the head of the table, the one seat that had a built in computer.

"Now, the things I'd like to cover are which city you'll be stationed at, which one of you will be the team leader, and the basic do's and don'ts of being a team based Titan."

Robin turned the computer one, and tapped a button. A white projector screen began descending from it's roll on one of the walls. He hit a second button to turn on the projector itself, one of the kind that's built into the ceiling.

Almost immediately, images of a large, industrial city began playing on the screen.

Robin got up and flipped the room's lights on and the projected images of the city came into much sharper focus.

He returned to his seat just as Kid Flash whistled. "Geez. They'll need a lot of twigs to lighten that place up..."

"You ain't kiddin', mate," Argent said. "Where is this, Robin?"

What you're all looking at, is Obsidian City. Population, over three million."

"That's _massive_," Hot Spot whispered.

"Very," Robin nodded. "And apparently crime rates there are skyrocketing."

"Evidently," Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "You just wouldn't send us to a happy place would you, Robin?"

Robin smiled. "Nope."

"What're the primary problems?" Jinx asked.

"All the usual, really," Robin replied. "Drugs, a massive network of organized crime, a few rogue criminals, you know the ones who just mindlessly destroy things."

"My absolute favorite," Argent muttered.

"Pretty much everything that can go wrong is going wrong there," Robin continued. "Extremely high murder rate, rape rate, theft rate, arson rate. I did extensive research to find the most crime ridden, destitute city I could."

"Well thanks a million there, buddy," Kid Flash said. "Looks like we've really got our work cut out for us..."

"Where's it located?" Herald asked.

"In the upper corner of the state of Indiana. It's located right on lake Michigan. As you can tell, it's a booming industrial city. Huge factories, vehicle plants, warehouses. It competes heavily with Detroit for auto production, and is one of the leading manufacturers in the world of farming equipment. Also, it has a large aircraft manufacturing corporation, and is quickly becoming a leading competitor in computers and technology."

Robin gave the group a moment for all this to sink in.

It's fairly close to Chicago, so if they need any major help there, you'll only be a stone's throw away. Steel City is about five hundred miles to the east, so the Titan's East are fairly close as well."

"How far from here?" Jinx asked.

"A little over twenty-five hundred miles."

Robin continued flipping through images, showing huge assembly lines, smokestacks, warehouses full of new farming equipment, shots of the skyline where hundreds of buildings seemed to be in an eternal competition of which one was tallest.

"Absolutely huge..." Argent marvelled.

"Extremely," Robin agreed. "Bigger than Steel, bigger than Jump, even. You guys really have a tough one here. But, honestly," Robin glanced around at the six Titans. "I think you can handle it."

Robin played a few more images before shutting the computer off and turning the lights in the room back on.

"And now, possibly the most controversial part of today's briefing, is which one of you will lead this team." Robin took a breath, and watched the varying degrees on interest play across the group's faces. "After considerable thought, based on what I've seen and heard about you all, your abilities, experience, etcetera, I've chosen Jinx to lead you."

He paused for reactions. Jinx herself seemed quite surprised. Kid Flash looked smug, but then again, he usually did so Robin couldn't put much stock in what that meant. Argent appeared content, Hot Spot didn't seemed surprised and Herald and Jericho looked completely indifferent.

It wasn't quite the reaction Robin had expected at all. He had expected, quite frankly, a certain degree of outrage. Jinx was, after all, an ex-criminal. Her past was checkered, to say the least, and though there was no doubt in his mind whatsoever about where her loyalties now lay, Robin was positive that some Titans probably thought differently.

"Well, that's fine with me," Argent said. She turned to Jinx. "I'm behind ya, girl."

"You know I agree with this," Kid Flash smiled. And Robin didn't doubt that for one second. Kid Flash was the first person to believe in Jinx's potential. And it was his actions and perseverance that made Jinx rethink her entire life. He was the entire reason she sat here today. Robin didn't know what Kid Flash had said or done, to change her view of the world so very much, but he was incredibly grateful.

"Robin, I... I don't know what to say..." Jinx said, absolutely amazed.

Robin shrugged. "Say you accept. You can turn it down, but I sincerely hope you don't. I'd really love to see what you could do with a competent team behind you."

Jinx blushed a little at this statement. Her previous team, the H.I.V.E Five, had been anything but a competent one.

"C'mon, Jinx, accept the man's offer," Kid Flash urged.

Hot Spot nodded his agreement. "Yeah, now that I think about it, this makes sense. You have experience leading, after all."

"Of course I accept," Jinx said. "How could I not?"

"Excellent," Robin said. "Any complaints about my decision?"

There were none. And Robin was again genuinely surprised, but very pleased with the Titan's level of forgiveness and level of trust.

He had known when he sent the word out to all the Titans who worked alone about his desire to create a third team, that it would be really something amazing. Those thoughts had only been encouraged when the six Titans sitting before him now where the ones who had volunteered for the job. These were heroes, in the best sense of the word. He had seen them all in action against the Brotherhood of Evil, the time that was the Titan's darkest hour; he had seen them fight, seen them give everything they had, and he had seen them triumph.

As Robin watched this new team, congratulating a former enemy for being given the opportunity to lead them, he felt immense pride.

He knew then that this team would succeed.


	3. Shopping

"Okay, moving on," Robin began again.

He flipped open the silver briefcase to reaveal six communicators. Robin had had to destroy all the old communicators when the Brotherhood of Evil had used them to track the Titans' every move. Up until recently, all the Titan's had been using temporary communicators, something Cyborg had whipped up almost overnight. But Robin had requested of his mechanically inclined teammate a whole new set of permanent communicators, and needless to say, Cyborg had gone way overboard on the new design. By sight alone, the communicators looked much like the old ones with only several different cosmetic details. One, instead of being yellow, they were now black. The black T representing Titans on the old one had now been replaced with a white T, which stood in stark contrast to the rest of the black device. And instead of being a heavy plastic, they were now solid metal, something Cyborg had actually casted from molds. It was an impressive, solid design. That in itself would have impressed Robin sufficiently, but Cyborg had made them far more advanced than the old ones as well.

Robin had, not for the first time, been quite pleased with Cyborg's mechanical brilliance.

"These are your new communicators," Robin said, beginning to pass them out. "They do pretty much everything the old ones did, but have a few new details you should all look into when you have the time. They are water resistant to over a hundred meters, and can take quite a bit of stress. At least that's what Cyborg said. And no, I don't encourage you to test those limits."

"Darn..." Kid Flash muttered, accepting the new communicator and flipping it around in his hands, examining it. "Neato."

He rubbed his gloved fingers over his name, which was engraved in white into the outer metal case of the device. Other than the white T and a few white buttons, the name was the only other thing on the device that wasn't black.

"It matches me this time," Argent said. "Black, the easiest color to work with."

"It does go with everything," Jinx agreed, also looking her communicator over. "These're impressive, Robin."

Robin nodded once. "Thank Cyborg when you see him. And speaking of..." Robin moved to the next topic. "Your tower..."

"That's right, we get to live in a freakin' big T. How awesome is that?" Kid Flash said.

"That's correct," Robin nodded again. "This new tower of yours has been Cyborg's baby ever since we got back from Tokyo about three months ago. I told him that I was getting a third team together on the flight back, and he just jumped right in. Had a half dozen designs drawn up by the next morning."

Robin took a breath. "Anyway, it'll be quite similar to both this tower and the one that the Titans East reside in. You'll each have a bedroom, and there'll be training rooms, garages, conference rooms, entertainment rooms, a command center; pretty much everything you'll need to both live comfortably and do your jobs to your fullest extent."

"Where's the tower located in the city?" Hot Spot questioned.

Robin smiled. "In Lake Michigan."

"Woah, beg pardon there, Wonder Boy. Did you just say in the lake?" Kid Flash said incredulously.

"Yes," Robin replied.

"Like on an island or something? Like this tower?"

"Nope."

Kid Flashed leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together behind his head. "Okay, this I gotta hear. Hit me."

"Like I said, Cyborg's baby," Robin said. "We're talking nearly a two billion dollar project, here. He picked a spot in the lake, somewhere he said was particularly rocky, so boats didn't travel there anyway, and he built the tower in the water. It's the height of this tower and the one in Steel City, but it extends some five stories down into the water to the floor of the lake."

"Woah," Argent murmured.

"Exactly," Robin said. "It's about a half mile offshore, so you should be far enough away to not not be much of a bother to anyone in the general populace."

"And far enough away to be fairly safe as well," Herald added.

"Correct."

"Cool," Herald nodded.

"Cyborg's been in Obsidian City for over two months personally overseeing construction," Robin added.

"Who's building it exactly?" Jinx asked.

"As with most things we do, it's funded by the Federal Governement. Meaning nearly two billion in tax dollars," Robin said.

"So no pressure to do well, then," Jinx said sarcastically. "They've sunk two billion dollars into us, we'd better clean that city up."

Robin just smiled and continued. "It's being built using private contractors who work for an old friend of mine. Needless to say, I trust him, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Good enough for me," Hot Spot said.

"The tower itself is nearing completion," Robin said. "I just spoke with Cyborg this morning and he said in fifteen days the contractors will leave. So, in fifteen days, you're cleared to move in. Cyborg will remain there for a week after you all move in to work out any bugs and to show you the ropes of your new home."

"Killer. It'll be nice seeing the big guy," Kid Flash said.

"So, that brings me to the final portion of the meeting: Your travel to Obsidian City."

Kid Flash snorted loudly. "We have Herald. He'll just open up a rift thingy and we'll be there. Or, he'll open up a rift thingy, and I'll try to race them all there."

Herald smiled. "You're on."

"Not what I was thinking," Robin intervened. "I'm thinking you'll drive there."

"Why in the _world_ would we do that?" Kid Flash asked.

"Team bonding. I want you all to know each other pretty well before you start working together. I figure a twenty-five hundred mile trip, with you all crammed into a car should be just about all the bonding you'll need."

"Fantastic..." Kid Flash muttered.

"Sounds pretty cool to me," Argent said. "I'd love a chance to see this country before settling in somewhere."

Jericho smiled and nodded his agreement.

"So, you'll all need to qualify to drive before you begin. I'd say a week of prep time, and an eight day road trip, putting you right on schedule to move into your tower," Robin said.

"Of _course_ you'd have all this planned out," Kid Flash sighed.

"Naturally. Also, your assignment for today, because you can't travel around the country in costume, is to go shopping. All day, as a team, to get what you need for the trip."

"Holy Christ!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "You can't even be serious!"

"Dead serious, actually," Robin smiled. "Let's call it the start of your team bonding."

Kid Flashed rubbed his eyes. "I'm... in... hell..."

"Oh, not yet you're not," Jinx smiled, evil shining in her eyes. "Just wait until Argent and I tag team you and make you try on stuff!"

"Oh, we're gonna do it, mate," Argent added simply.

"Ah, Jesus. Robin," Kid Flash muttered. "I request an exemption from this assignment."

"Denied."

"Damn you. At least grant me diplomatic immunity from those two," Kid Flash pointed at Jinx and Argent. He lowered his voice. "They scare me."

"Can't do it. Team bonding."

"Oh, you go to hell, sir!" Kid Flash said. He looked with more than slight worry at Jinx and Argent, who were both grinning wickedly at him, while Hot Spot and Jericho laughed in the background. Even Herald seemed amused.

Kid Flash sighed, burying his head in his hands.

"This is gonna suck..."


	4. Heroes

"So, since you'll be shopping, you'll need these."

Robin reached into the briefcase once again and removed six yellow plastic cards with a black T on them, and passed one to each of the new team.

"These are what we call 'Titan credit cards'," Robin explained. "We use them whenever we need something. The money is pulled from the budget allotted to us by the Federal Government."

"Very cool," Argent said.

"It is," Robin agreed. "But, since you won't need anything other than some civilian clothing for this trip, try to keep your spending to within a few hundred dollars at most."

"Might be a problem, there, Robin," Jinx smiled. "But we'll try."

"The hell we will!" Argent said, and both girls broke into laughter.

"Robin, brother, you are killing me, here," Kid Flash pleaded. "If you put me in a mall with those two lunatics, I won't make it out alive."

"Oh, suck it up, Flash," Robin replied. "You'll be fine. Oh, and I suggest you all go to dinner, too. Go ahead and use one of the cards to pay for it. I have a few suggestions for good restaurants, if you need them."

"Thanks, Robin," Hot Spot said.

"Not a problem," Robin waved him off. "Just trying to make sure this team formation goes smoothly. So, shopping and dinner today, and learning to drive starts tomorrow. We even have a licensed instructor on hand for you. That should take a few days for you to all learn, I think. Then, in seven days, you're gone."

"And out of your hair," Kid Flash finished for him. "Unless I cease to live today at the mall, which seems likely."

"Very likely," Jinx corrected him.

"Quite," Argent added.

"Titans," Robin stated, an edge suddenly in his voice. He instantly had the group's complete attention. "I can't in words stress to you the importance of what you're doing. I'm essentially giving a city for you. It's yours now. Yours to defend. Three million people will depend upon you for protection. Granted, there are plenty of police in Obsidian City, as there are in every city. But I can only assume that the law enforcement there is just as corrupt as it is in any other city I've ever encountered."

Robin took a breath, and noted that all six of them were hanging on his every word. Even Kid Flash looked dead serious.

"You have to know, as difficult as it is to accept, that even though you are there to fight crime, to stop the monsters of society from doing what they intend, you can't possibly stop them all. You can't stop everyone from being murdered, every car from being stolen, every drug dealer who sells coke to children... No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't stop them all. You can only try as hard as you can, and stop as many as you can."

"It took me a long time to figure that out," Robin sighed. "Day after day, I would watch the news and blame myself for every bad thing that happened in this city. Blame myself for not trying harder, for not being there, for not saving that person. And that blame I placed on myself, that depression it caused, began to affect me. It made my abilities, my judgement, suffer. I was trying to save everyone, and I just couldn't. Even with the rest of my team behind me, I couldn't. And then I finally figured out what we, as the Teen Titans are really here for. What we really do. Yes, we stop criminals. We do it better than any police force could possibly do. But that's not why we're different. We are different because we are pure, incorruptible; we are the shot of hope that a city needs to keep going, to want to see another day."

Robin smiled. "When people look and see that giant T out on Lake Michigan, they will know the Teen Titans are there. That they are watching over them, protecting them. People will start going out into the city without worrying if it'll be their last day. People will let their children play outside again. People won't walk down the street wondering if they'll be mugged, or held up at a bank, or even just caught in a random gang shoot out. Store owners won't always keep one hand on that shotgun under the counter. And the criminals? Criminals will look at that T and wonder if today's their last day of walking the streets, free to do whatever they please..."

"But most importantly of all..." Robin smiled wider. "The police will clean up their act, at least to some extent. Many won't want to be shown up by a bunch of kids. The corrupt ones will always wonder if you know about their misdeeds, and are just waiting to strike. And the good ones... Well, the good ones will take your presence as the reenforcement it is, and will gain a whole new level of confidence."

Robin looked around the table, at Kid Flash, Jericho, and Hot Spot on his left, and Argent, Jinx and Herald on his right. None of them made any attempt to interrupt him.

"You, Titans, are the symbol for the entire city. You are the ones that people will turn to in times of peril. You are the ones with the responsibility."

"Don't get me wrong," Robin continued. "These changes will not occur immediately. It'll be weeks, months perhaps of constant crime fighting before the message starts to sink in. But it will sink in. And because of you, the city will be in far better shape then at any point in recent memory. It worked here, it worked in Steel City, and it will work in Obsidian City."

Robin gave a final smile, a smile of pride for the group sitting before him.

"You are the symbol. You are the heroes. You are the hope."

Robin stood, and gave the group a final nod.

"Dismissed."


	5. The Final Frontier

"Well, gentlemen, we have reached the final frontier."

The group had arrived at one of the larger malls in Jump City, and Kid Flash wasn't even attempting to pretend he has enjoying himself. The briefing with Robin had ended, and Kid Flash was just about to start up what would've been a rousing game of Halo 3 with Beast Boy, but had been informed that they were actually supposed to go shopping right that instant.

Beast Boy had laughed like a maniac and had wished him good luck. Kid Flash told him, quite sarcastically, that he doubted he would ever return. That had only made Beast Boy laugh harder.

"Seriously, if I didn't respect Robin so much, I'd be in Tibet by now," Kid Flash muttered.

"Come on, man," Hot Spot responded. "It won't be that bad."

Herald had, a few moments before, used his dimension opening horn to create a portal from Titan's Tower to the mall parking lot. Robin had cleared the use of the horn for their trips around the city, but it would be strictly off-limits during their road trip.

And since six obvious teen super heroes had materialized out of nowhere into the middle of the parking lot, they were getting quite a few confounded stares from other mall patrons.

"Actually, Herald, on second thought..." Jinx muttered, looking at the pavement to avoid the stares. It may've been commonly known she was a Titan now, but these people remembered her from her time as a member of the H.I.V.E. "Maybe we shouldn't use your horn anymore..."

"I'm inclined to agree," Herald nodded, noting the confused disturbance they had created.

"Don't be silly, people," Kid Flash said. "They know who we are! 'Sup guys!" He waved to everyone, and only got sparse waves back.

"Yeah! Let's um... go inside now..." Kid Flash muttered through is smile.

"Agreed," Jinx said.

The six made their way to the mall's enterance, being stared at by every single person they passed.

Robin had told them to expect this. It was an unwritten rule in Jump City that the Titans could move about freely without getting disturbed or swamped by fans or any random citizen who wanted to meet the Teen Titans. Robin had said it had taken a while for this odd truce to finally come about, but when it did, people became quite respectful with keeping their distance.

Though that didn't stop the stares.

"How do the others stand this?" Argent asked, glancing around the mall, where most eyes were trained on them.

"I have no idea..." Hot Spot replied.

And Kid Flash was suddenly gone.

It took a moment for that fact to register to Jinx. "Oh, dammit! There he goes..."

"What a puss," Argent muttered dejectedly.

"Hey, I don't blame him. If I could do that, I would've by now," Hot Spot said.

Jericho nodded and maimed going really fast with one his hands.

"Let's go into that one," Herald spoke up and pointed at a store.

"Herald, that's a Jamba Juice," Jinx said incredulously.

Herald shrugged. "I'm thirsty."

Jinx sighed, and spotted a clothing store that seemed to cover a pretty broad range of consumers.

"Let's just go into that one and get this over with," she said.

She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. A mall? Of course there would people here. And what do people do? They stare at super heroes. It had been so much easier when she had just been able to break into a store and steal what she wanted, late at night with no one around.

Jinx sighed to herself, as she led the team, minus Kid Flash to the clothing store she had picked, dodging stares every step of the way. Those days of stealing things late at night, away from prying eyes, were over for her now. This was what being good was like.

Being stared at.

The five at had just entered the store and Jinx was relieved that there were only a few people other than them in it.

"Okay," she said. "Argent and I are going over there," she pointed to the women's section. "The rest of you, have at it."

"Best of luck, boys," Argent said with a wave. "Righto, Jinx, let's dive right in, shall we?"

Jinx smiled at her only female teammate. It was nice having one for once. She had been the only girl in the H.I.V.E Five, and at times (well, all the time) it drove her up the wall. It'd be nice having another girl around for a change. And as an added bonus, Argent even seemed pretty cool.

They had no sooner arrived at the women's section, and began looking through the racks of hip-hugging jeans, when Argent turned to her.

"So, what's your story, then?"

Jinx blinked. "My story?"

"Yeah, you're story." Argent shrugged. "Everyone's got one. And I heard yours is pretty good."

"Well, I..." Jinx began. "I guess I was evil, now I'm good."

"Laaaaaaaaame," Argent sang. "You can do better than that! Come on! I want detail!"

"Well..." Jinx sputtered, trying to think of something to say. "I was part of the H.I.V.E, you know, the crime syndicate or whatever. And I trained at their school for a while, and then I graduated and led a team of fellow graduates. And we did, um, evil stuff."

Argent laughed. She had a very musical laugh. "Not from what I hear! I heard you couldn't rob a bank even if the doors were wide open!"

Jinx blushed. "I guess that true... I didn't have a very good team..."

"Now that I did hear," Argent agreed. She held a pair of light blue hip-huggers to herself, trying to decide what she thought of them.

"Well, if these fit, they'll be fine, I think," she said, satisfied. "Doesn't match my hair, of course, but nothing normal really does."

"What about you?" Jinx asked.

"What about me what?"

"What's your story?"

"Oh, that!" Argent said, folding the jeans up and putting them in the crook of her arm. She would grab a few more items before going to the changing room. "Well, I'm from England originally. Then, through one reason or another, I ended up in New Zealand," She shrugged. "You know. Fought crime, fixed dams, that sort of thing. It's all ancient history, really. Suffice it to say it was so bloody boring down there I almost flew outta my panties when Robin offered me a place on a team. You know. Actually doing something."

Jinx laughed a little at that remark. "Really cool accent, by the way."

"Thanks, love," Argent grinned. "Boys dig it, too. Or maybe it's the hair... Either way, really. Oh, and speaking of boys..."

Argent had a slight twinkle in her eye, now. "What's going on with you and the Kid?"

Jinx felt herself blush. "What are you talking about? There's nothing going on."

"Pardon me," Argent said, "but bullshit. You might be able, if you tried hard enough, to fool the boys but you sure as hell ain't fooling me."

Argent smiled wide. "So let's try that again, then. What's going on between you and Kid Flash?"

Jinx felt herself blush even more, and knew the game was up. "I dunno..." She stammered. "Well... He showed up, and made the H.I.V.E. Five really look like the joke it was, and just the things he said to me made me think. It made me rethink everything. And then the next time I saw him, he asked me to come help save the Teen Titans, and for some reason I said yes."

"And I'm quite glad you did," Argent nodded. "As you recall I was frozen for a significant portion of that fight." She shuddered at the memory. "Unpleasant business, being frozen... Anyway, do continue."

"That's pretty much it, really," Jinx shrugged. "He's so... stupid and immature, but yet... I dunno... There's something about him. He's a lot smarter than he lets on..."

Argent nodded knowingly. "Yep. You like him."

"I didn't say that!"

"Why in the world are you denying it?" Argent asked, picking out a second pair of hip-huggers. "I mean, the whole story itself is just so bloody perfect: Good, immature boy, meets bad girl, wants to fix bad girl's circumstances, and does." Argent shrugged. "Need I continue?"

"Please refrain," Jinx rubbed her face with her hands. "You can believe what you want, I guess."

"And I shall," Argent grinned, knowing she'd won this battle. "At any rate, he likes you. He's not even trying to hide it!"

Jinx just nodded.

"If I were you, I'd be thrilled," Argent continued. "I mean, he's cute, he's funny. Yeah, he's a little immature, and has his various eccentricities, but hey, we all do. We're super heroes!"

"I guess so..." Jinx muttered.

Argent nodded once, deciding to let the topic drop. "Come on, Jinx! You haven't picked out anything yet! Grab something and let's go try stuff on. You know. Like normal girls."


	6. Level

"Okay, now what?" Hot Spot asked, as he watched the girls walk away.

"Guess we shop," Herald responded.

"I ain't very good at that..." Hot Spot admitted. "I don't have to often, you know?"

"Same here," Herald said. "What about you, Jericho? You do this much?"

The mute teen shrugged and shook his head.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't need to, either," Herald said. "Oh, well. Guess we're on our own on this one."

"Wonder where Flash ended up," Hot Spot commented.

"Wherever he went, he had the right idea, that's for sure," Herald noted.

"Even the girls don't seem to be enjoying this much," Hot Spot said. "Aren't they supposed to love shopping?"

"That's what I've heard," Herald nodded. "Anyway, best get this done. I wanna be dressed normally and out of here as fast as possible."

"I'm with ya on that, man," Hot Spot said.

Jericho nodded once.

"Huh," Hot Spot said, staring at Herald. "Man, you've said more in the last thirty seconds than you have all day. I was starting to wonder if you even talked."

Herald shrugged. "In a group setting, like in Robin's briefing, I think it's best to keep my mouth shut. I learn a lot more about what's going on around me if I do things that way."

"Okay..." Hot Spot said. "So why the chatter now?"

"I dunno, man," Herald replied. "My goal today was to learn as much as I could about this team I'm now on. Since we were all in one room, it was a great opportunity to learn a bit about y'all. Now it's just the three of us. It's a lot less to pay attention to."

"And what'd you learn?"

Herald smiled. "Well, you seem pretty cool, and I already knew Jericho here is on the level. The rest, well, it's an odd group, but think this'll work."

Hot Spot smiled. "Fair enough. Anyway, there's some cargo shorts over there I wouldn't mind looking at. Care to join?"

"I ain't got anything better to do," Herald said. "Jericho?"

Jericho nodded once, and the three boys began to make their way to the rack that Hot Spot had indicated.

"What I am curious about, though," Herald began, as soon as they arrived, "Is why you joined a team at all."

"Who, me?" Hot Spot asked, picking out a pair of khaki shorts and looking them over.

"Yeah," Herald said. "I heard you were a career loner. Teams had no appeal to you. What changed?"

Hot Spot smiled. "For the record, I heard similar things about you."

"I won't deny it," Herald nodded. "But I inquired first."

"I dunno," Hot Spot shrugged. "I think one of the big tipping points was that fight I had with Madam Rouge in the Middle East. Right before The Brotherhood of Evil really came after us. That was the battle where I went down. Next things I knew I was waking up in the middle of a huge beat down in the middle of France. Anyway, it occurred to me during that fight with Rouge, that Titans like Robin and his team never had the problem of being alone. They always had someone they could turn to if they ever got backed into a corner. Plus, I could also take up that job of being a person to turn to if someone else got backed into that corner."

Hot Spot shrugged a second time. "We'll never be on our own again. It's the security, man. Something about having a good comfort level keeps me sharp. Some of the best missions I ever had were the ones when it never even occurred to me that I could be just blown apart at any moment. The ones where I thought I was invincible. I think being on a team, well, I got five other Titans backing me up. Comfort level's gonna be high."

He smiled. "What about you, Herald?"

"I just wanted a change of pace," Herald said. "Just wanted to do something different. Figured this was about as different as I could get."

Hot Spot snorted. "You guessed right, brother." He gestured around the clothing store. "Bet when you woke up this morning, this was the last place you figured on being at."

Herald smiled. "Damn right. But I've never doubted Robin before, so I'm just gonna have to see this one through."

Jericho just nodded once. He had, as he always did, been listening quite intently to the conversation. He agreed completely when Herald said you learned a lot more if you just kept your mouth shut and paid attention. It was a philosophy that Jericho lived by. Not that he had much of a choice in the matter, but he guessed that even if he could talk, he'd probably be almost as quiet as he was already.

"What about you, Jericho?" Herald addressed him. "What lured you to this job?"

Jericho smiled and rolled his eyes. His answer was pretty similar to Herald's. Jericho wanted a change of scenery; something different to do with his life. Though he had to agree with Hot Spot's comfort level argument. It would be a lot easier to operate knowing you had teammates backing you up. He had other reasons, as well. Though he suspected every Titan now on this team had plenty of reason regarding why they had joined up.

But, of course, he couldn't convey any of this to Herald or Hot Spot, so he simply added a shrug to his eye roll, and continued shifting through the rack of cargo shorts.

"Good answer," Herald smiled. "I wonder why the others, especially Kid Flash are here. He never struck me as being a team player."

"I hear ya," Hot Spot agreed.

Jericho smiled. Kid Flash. What a character.

"It's also odd that we're a team of six. Both the other teams have five," Herald noted.

"Yeah, that's true," Hot Spot said, thinking it over. "Wonder why Robin did it that way."

Herald just shrugged.

"What do you think about Jinx being in charge?" Hot Spot asked, glancing at her and Argent on the other side of the store.

Herald though about this for a moment. "What about it?"

"Well, we all know what her past looks like. Just wanted to know what you thought about an ex baddie leading our team."

"Hadn't thought much about it," Herald said.

Jericho shrugged. He hadn't given it much thought, either.

"Do you trust her?" Hot Spot asked.

"I have no reason not to." Herald replied. "Robin obviously does, and that's enough for me."

Jericho nodded his approval. If Robin trusted Jinx, that was plenty good enough for him.

"What about you?" Herald asked. "Do you trust her?"

"I'm not sure yet..." Hot Spot admitted. "I want to, you know? But something just won't let me. I mean, I do believe that she does have leader experience, regardless of how worthless the H.I.V.E. Five are, but I just don't trust her."

"Hm," Herald said thoughtfully. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Trust will develop. I think she's cool."

"You're probably right," Hot Spot said. "But I guess we'll see."


	7. Forty Love

"I do believe things have gotten a little out of hand, here..."

Jinx looked down at at the piles of clothes that the two girls had picked off the racks for their excursion to the changing rooms, and she had to agree with Argent's statement.

"Yeah, Whoops..."

Argent shrugged. "Ah, well. Guess we'll just have to try them all on, then."

Jinx smiled. "Guess so."

The pink-haired sorceress glanced over at the three boys, Hereld, Hot Spot and Jericho, who, after a few minutes of looking more out of place than any other people she had ever seen, had finally started actually looking at clothes. They even seemed to be having fun, too. They were all smiling, and laughing periodically. It was like they had decided to approach the whole affair as some sort of big joke.

Argent noticed, too. "Hope we don't emasculate those poor boys too much..."

"Eh, they'll be fine," Jinx waved her off, watching Hot Spot hold a blue turtleneck shirt up to Jericho, while Herald watched thoughtfully. The three seemed dead serious about it, before they all broke out in laughter.

Jinx smiled.

"What's so funny?" Argent raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," Jinx said. "Just them."

"Ah," Argent nodded. "Yeah, now that I look closer, it does seem like they're making the best of it."

"I think this'll really work," Jinx commented.

"Oh me, too!" Argent said, looking at the black shirt she was holding. "It matches me, but doesn't look goth. It's a fine line to hit, that, but I think I've done it."

"No, no. Not the shirt," Jinx said.

Argent looked crestfallen. "What? It doesn't work? I thought for sure it did..."

"No! The shirt looks great!" Jinx stuttered. "That wasn't what I was talking about."

"Damn right it looks great," Argent grinned. "I've yet to be wrong about fashion. What were you talking about, then?"

"Well," Jinx looked for an answer. "Us, I guess."

Argent looked slightly confused and Jinx realized she needed to elaborate.

"I mean the team. I think it'll work."

"Oh, I completely agree," Argent said. "I mean, you and the Kid already know each other, Jericho and Herald are pretty close, and they seem to be getting along with Hot Spot just fine. The two of us are hittin' it off quite nicely, too. I honestly think we'll all get along famously."

"Well, that's true..." Jinx nodded, thoughtfully. "But I didn't just mean get along. I meant as a team itself."

"Oh, I know exactly what you meant, love," Argent began loading her arms with her pile of clothes, ready to go to the changing rooms. "But in order for a team to operate successfully, everyone must know each other pretty well."

She smiled. "And, of course, not hate each other too much."

Argent finished loading her substantial stack of clothing into her arms, and glanced at Jinx. "Oh, damn," She said. "I was going to offer you help before loading up."

"Nah, don't worry about," Jinx said. "I can handle it."

"Righto, well I'm off, then," Argent said, beginning to move toward the changing rooms. "You sure you got it?"

"Not a problem," Jinx assured her.

"Kay. See you in a few."

"You, too," Jinx smiled a bit. She watched Argent move slowly away, trying not to drop anything, before she began loading her own prospective clothes into her arms.

She was just starting to pick them up when someone bumped into her.

"Oh, excuse me, miss," he said.

"Oh, that's okay," Jinx replied, glancing up. She wondered why a guy would be in the woman's section.

"Do you need a hand with any of that?" he asked. He had red hair, bright blue eyes and...

"Kid Flash?!" Jinx exclaimed.

"Shhhh," Kid Flash whispered, glancing around quickly. "Don't ruin it! No one recognizes me!"

He coughed and raised his voice. "No miss, I believe you are mistaken. Who is this 'Kid 'Flash' you speak of?"

Jinx sighed and looked Kid Flash up and down.

He was wearing dark blue jeans and a semi-formal white turtleneck that wasn't tucked in, and white and grey tennis shoes. He had sunglasses with oval, bright orange reflective lenses dangling from the collar of his shirt. He carried a single, large shopping bag in his left hand.

No wonder Jinx hadn't recognized him instantly. He just looked like some random teenager at a mall.

"Flash, where did you go?!" Jinx asked, not keeping her voice down. "You just ran off!"

"Again, miss," Kid Flash said evenly, while rolling his blue eyes. "You have mistaken me with someone else."

"Drop the act!" Jinx nearly yelled, drawing the attention of more and more people. "Where did you go?!"

"You just can't take a hint, can you?" Kid Flash rubbed his eyes. "I just went to a store a little ways into the mall. Sorry I left, but I had to get out of costume, fast." He waved a hand over his attire. "I even snuck past Herald, Hot Spot and Jericho at normal speed and they didn't notice! You like?"

Jinx looked him up and down again. She hated to admit it to herself, but he looked pretty good. But even if she had admitted it to herself, she certainly wasn't going to admit it to him. Especially when she was so pissed at him.

"You look like some preppy high school tennis player."

His eyes lit up and he grinned. "That was _exactly_ what I was going for! I even have my own back story: I'm a popular tennis jock, or whatever the hell they're called, at a private school. I have one of the fastest serves this side of the state, and you'll only see the blaze of my exquisite red hair before I forty love your ass."

Jinx just glared. "I can't believe you took off like that! You just abandoned us!"

"You didn't even let me finish the story!" Kid Flash seemed hurt. "I also have a wonderful, supportive girlfriend. We're quite committed to each other. Hint, hint. There. Now I'm done."

Jinx continued to glare furiously.

"Why do you hate fun?" Kid Flash asked, and when pink energy started to crackle around Jinx's eyes, he realized immediate apologies were in order.

"Look, I'm sorry I left, okay?" he raised his hands defensively. "But I couldn't just wait around being stared at like that by everyone here. I figured I'd take care of myself first, then come back, hang out with you guys and help if you needed it. It's like on an airplane: You always put your own oxygen mask on first before helping the person next to you."

Jinx sighed, the anger she was feeling becoming controllable, and the pink 'bad luck' energy around her eyes dissapated. He did have a point. And he hadn't even been gone for more than fifteen minutes.

"Wait, you've only been gone like, fifteen minutes!"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. The cashier was so slow it was painful."

Of course he'd be done already, Jinx thought. Obviously. Kid Flash: The ultimate speed shopper.

"Well, did you get everything you need, then?" Jinx asked him.

He shook his head. "Not even remotely. I just got what you see. Well, the boxers came in a three pack, so I got two more of those, and the socks came in a ten pack, so I have nine other pairs. Oh, and the sunglasses. But other than that, nothing."

He smiled. "As I recall, a certain somebody was going to pick stuff out for me to try on. But perhaps I was mistaken. You give me thirty minutes, and I can get everything I need and be ready to be on my merry way."

"No, no!" Jinx exclaimed, much louder than she meant to. "I mean, um, no, that's okay. I'll um, pick some stuff out for you."

"Excellent," he said, putting his shopping bag down and rubbing his hands together. "Now, let me make up for abandoning you by helping you to carry all these clothes."

Jinx smiled, if only barely perceptibly. Her anger had completely evaporated. How had he done that?

"Okay."


	8. Costumes and Disguises

"I'm liking the blue," Hot Spot stated.

"Yeah," Herald agreed, "Blue's your color, Jericho."

Jericho held the navy blue T-shirt up to him again. He gave an inquisitive look that Herald noticed and translated to be a question.

"Yeah, we're positive," he assured his mute companion.

Jericho shrugged. Whatever worked, he figured.

"Yeah," Hot Spot said, trying as hard as he could not to laugh. "The blue really brings out the green of your eyes!" That was all he managed to say before he doubled over with laughter.

Herald smiled, as did Jericho. They both understood the joke perfectly. They had been using terms like 'brings out the color of your eyes' and 'that looks absolutely darling!' and other such variations ever since they had begun looking through clothes. And, the situation itself was already so funny, little jabs like this were all it took to keep spirits up.

Hot Spot finally got his laughter under control. "I wonder if this is what girls actually sound like when they shop."

Herald shrugged. "Who knows, who cares."

"Yeah, but on a serious note, Jericho: That shirt does look pretty good," Hot Spot added.

Jericho smiled and signed something with his hands.

"I have no idea what that meant..." Hot Spot admitted.

"He might've been making some sort of comment on how you three are turning into a bunch of woman," a voice broke in behind them.

They turned to see Kid Flash, out of uniform, in street clothes, and only readily recognizable because of his flaming hair and cocky smile.

"'Sup, Kid!" Hot Spot waved him over. "We thought you bailed."

"Oh, I did," Kid Flash said, joining them all around the rack of shirts. "But, alas, it was only to another store, and for only the time I needed to get out of my disguise and into this... disguise... Funny how that works."

Hot Spot looked him over. "Not bad, man. Not bad."

Kid Flash shrugged modestly. "Why, thank you. You gentlemen having any luck?"

"Some," Hot Spot confirmed. "We've each got a couple shirts and a couple pairs of pants we think we're gonna get."

Jericho nodded and held up the blue shirt he was still holding so Kid Flash could see it.

Kid Flash examined it. "Snazzy."

"We told him blue was his color," Herald said.

"Well, be that as it may," Kid Flash began, "you're biased, Herald. You're like the main advocate of the color blue!"

Herald shrugged. "True. It's just a good color."

"Anyway," Kid Flash continued, "That brings me to my next point. Go grab some underwear and socks, boys. The real trick here is to buy one outfit right off the bat, and get out of the costumes. Notice you're still the center of attention around here."

The three looked around and noticed that they indeed still were. Every single person that passed by the store stole at least one glance at the teen heroes, and every single person in the store couldn't go more than a few moments without looking over at them.

"Damn it, Kid, we were trying to forget!" Hot Spot said irritably .

Kid Flash just laughed. "Well, at least you haven't been powered up, Spotty. That'd get some looks I'd bet... Just get out of costumes. Trust me. Once we've all done that, this may actually be fun. They've got a hell of a food court further down, and I'm gonna get there eventually."

Jericho then remembered the pair of girls and looked around for them. He couldn't spot them anywhere.

He waved at Kid Flash to get his attention and pointed to the spot where he had last seen the girls.

"Oh, the girls?" Kid Flash said, figuring out what Jericho meant instantly. "I was just over there. Snuck past all of you, too. Disguise testing." Kid Flash grinned. "Anyway, they're trying on stuff. Should be preoccupied for, I dunno... hours."

"Damn," Hot Spot said. "How much stuff they grab?"

"Lots and lots," Kid Flash reported. "And lots. At least Jinx did. I can only assume the same for Argent. Yeah, we've got time to kill."

He clapped his hands together. "Now, be good children and buy all that now, and get changed into it. I'm gonna pop on down to that electronics store over there, and I'll be back in, well..." He smiled. "A flash."

"Hardy har," Hot Spot rolled his eyes.

"Hey that wouldn't made some four year old somewhere laugh hysterically," Kid Flash retorted with a grin. "Anyway, b.r.b. guys!"

He waved, sauntered out of the store and was gone.

Herald spoke first. "Did he just say... b.r.b.? The acronym?"

"Yep," Hot Spot confirmed. "And the irony here is he called _us_ women."

"He has a good point, though," Herald noted. "Socks are right over there. Lets get out of our costumes and into our disguises."

This was met with agreement from both Jericho and Hot Spot, and a few minutes later, the trio had all they needed to get out of the their costumes and into something a hair less conspicuous. Jericho, as encouraged, bought the blue shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Herald settled on a pair of regular blue jeans and wore a simple black shirt. Hot Spot noted that those colors were Herald's costume's colors and Herald just shrugged. "Creature of habit," he had said simply.

Hot Spot opted for the more flashy: He chose a bright red T-shirt to go with a pair of darker blue jeans.

"I see you're keeping to your color, yourself," Herald said. "Hypocrite."

Hot Spot laughed. "What can I say? Red's the way to go. Costume's only mainly back because if it was red, well, that would be just too much red."

The three had then decided, after transferring their new communicators from their costumes (which were now in the single shopping bag they all carried), that going to a shoe store a few doors down was the next best option, as they were all still wearing their costume's footwear. They collectively decided that the girls would more than likely be just fine on their own, and none of the three boys thought that sitting around and waiting for the girls to finish playing dress-up sounded particularly appealing anyway.

So, after a ten minute debate over which pair of shoes to get (each of them decided that only one pair of shoes would be necessary for an eight day trip), each of the three settle on a simple pair of comfortable tennis shoes.

"And low and behold, they're still not done," Hot Spot said, glancing into the first store they had all went in to.

"Or maybe we just missed them," Herald said.

Jericho shrugged. Who could ever hope to predict girls, anyway?

Hot Spot glanced around, and no one was consistently staring at them anymore. The only people that even glanced at them were the patrons who had been hanging around long enough to realize that the Titans were all out of costume, and the storekeepers who had sold them the street attire in the first place.

"Much better," Hot Spot said with a nod. "Any plans for what we do next?

Herald smiled. "Well, I vote the Jamba Juice. I'm still thirsty."

The next ten minutes were sent in an enthralling debate over what was the best flavor was, and the agonizing choice of which flavor to commit to and actually get.

They were right in the middle of ordering when Kid Flash walked in.

"Jamba Juice? You guys are just tearing right into this whole mall experience."

"Ah, shut it," Hot Spot retorted with a wave of his hand. "You jumped right on the shopping bandwagon and bought stuff before any of us did."

"Yes, but that was out of necessity," Kid Flash explained. "It was either do that, or get stared at like a Mets fan in Citizens Bank Park."

He was met with three blank stares.

Kid Flash sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Never mind."


	9. Reflection

Argent looked herself over in the changing room mirror, and was quite satisfied with what she saw. She was wearing the black shirt that she had picked out. The one that had hit the fine line, as she had told Jinx, of looking good on her but not looking too goth. She was also wearing a dark blue pair of hip-huggers that fit her quite nicely. Argent decided that this was the outfit she would wear out of the store and for the rest of the shopping day. She smiled to herself as she thought of how ridiculous her current circumstances were. And not just hers, but all of the Titans here. The mall? What was Robin on when he had concocted that one?

Not that it bothered Argent in the least, really. She was quite content to shop. But the stares... How unnerving that little escapade had been.

The mirror reflected back a rather beautiful girl. Being only a tad over five feet two inches tall (with her hair adding a couple of inches) and less than a hundred pounds, Argent was a tiny girl. She studied her reflection intently and noted with slight dismay that she was still rail thin. Not that she wanted to gain weight or anything, but she didn't much want to look like a stick figure, either. But, she supposed, it was better being rail thin and healthy than any other option she could think of.

She looked over at the neat piles of clothes that surrounded her. She had tried all them on, and then folded them neatly when she was finished. It was an unconscious habit for her, being neat. And, after much debate over what to buy and what to ultimately wear out of the store, she had settled on the more simple approach.

Her costume was also neatly folded and placed with care in a pile all its own. Argent would have to sneak that into one of her shopping bags as soon as she got some.

Argent smiled, her reflection following suit. She may've sported the goth look when she was in her crime fighting character, and may've preferred the look in general, but for this little road trip that she and the rest team were about to undertake, she had figured that perhaps a lower key look was in order. Though she was still wearing her red and black boots, she doubted too many people would notice. And besides, that minor inconvenience would only last until she and Jinx raided the nearest shoe store.

The only downside that really bothered her about this more modest look was the fact that the tattoo of the A on her chest would be covered up.

Oh, well.

Heaving a sigh, Argent continued to stare at the girl in the mirror. The small stature, silver skin, off-beat hair style of spiky black with red bangs. And the dark crimson irises that were the centerpiece of her silver face.

She would still stand out considerably.

Yet another 'oh, well'.

Argent's smile faded a little, as she suddenly found herself thinking about things completely unrelated to the current situation. She thought about New Zealand, her home for so many years. She thought about what she was giving up to join this team. She would miss the island country terribly.

But there were some things that made the sacrifice worth it.

Being on her own had been so incredibly lonely. She had thought for the longest time she could handle it, but as the years came and went she found herself longing for company of people who were, if not exactly like her (and she highly doubted there were many of those) than maybe at least other heroes. Other people who were, to put it politely, out of the ordinary. She would have friends now. People who were constants in her life. People she could rely on. People who were simply there.

That was something she had desperately wanted.

Plus, there was no way that Robin would've gone to the trouble of forming an entire new team unless there had been a pressing need for one to exist. The Titans had been there for her when she had most needed them, and Argent was going to make damn sure she repaid that kindness. And she was a hero, after all. That meant going where she was needed.

And, as much as she loved New Zealand, there really wasn't as rampant a crime problem there as there seemed to be here.

Bloody Americans. The thought made Argent grin.

But, any way she looked at it, Argent knew she would still miss her country.

Argent's thoughts then turned to her pink haired companion. What an utterly fascinating girl that Jinx was. She had been pure evil, then somewhere along the line had changed her mind. True, perhaps she had needed some assistance (Argent did wonder what exactly Kid Flash had said to Jinx to have such an impact on the career criminal's life choices) but Jinx was living proof that it was never to late to start over and try something different.

And now the sorceress was leading the third team of Teen Titans, no less!

Surveying once again the piles of clothing, Argent began performing a mental triage of what she was actually going to buy. It took a few moments, but she managed to narrow it down to about half the stuff she had tried on. She didn't want to get everything she needed in one store, not when there was a whole shopping adventure ahead of her.

"Hey, Jinx," Argent said loudly, sorting the clothes into two stacks: the stack for keeping and the stack for putting back. "How's it coming along?"

It took a few moments before Argent heard the other girl's reply, muffled by the walls that separated them.

"Eh, it's fine, I guess. I'm not used to changing rooms at all. Normally I just steal whatever looks good and throw it out later if it doesn't fit or doesn't click."

Argent laughed. "I guess those days are over, eh? Looks like you're going to have to try things on like all the rest of us poor souls from now on."

She heard Jinx snort from the other room. "Yeah, I guess so. Please tell me being a good guy isn't always so inconvenient..."

"Can't do that, love," Argent replied. She heard Jinx groan and smiled. "Just kidding. Being on the good side's the bomb, actually."

"God, I hope so," Jinx muttered so quietly that Argent had trouble hearing her. She wondered what Jinx was thinking, being the leader and everything. She had to have absolutely loads on her mind.

"Anyway love," Argent said, "I'm just about done. How much time do you need me to give you?"

"Not much. I could probably finish in a couple minutes if I tried."

"Kay," Argent said. She looked down at the the stacks of clothes, doing a final check to make sure she had everything she wanted.

Everything seemed to be in order.

"Righto, I'm going to go pay up," Argent reported.

Taking the huge load of clothes to the checkout counter proved just as daunting a task as is was to get them to the changing rooms in the first place. Argent made a mental note to next time grab less things.

Or take multiple trips.

Argent noticed, as she was walking to the checkout counter, that the boys were nowhere to be seen. They must've finished, she mused. Or else just got tired of hanging around here. Argent wondered where they had gotten off to.

When she reached the counter, she asked for a bag immediately, and discreetly stuffed her costume into it, though the cashier obviously already knew who she was. She had been hanging around the store wearing that costume for long enough.

It took a few minutes for all her items, including the ones she was wearing, to be scanned. Argent was a little excited when she scanned the Teen Titan's credit card. It was just another one of those reminders that she was an official Teen Titan now. The card worked, of course.

:Argent now had two large shopping bags crammed full of new clothes.

She was making her way back to the changing rooms to check up on Jinx, when the pink haired girl emerged.

"Oh my God!" Argent exclaimed, looking at Jinx. "You look so _cute_!"

Jinx was wearing a simple pink T-shirt and very light blue hip-huggers. the pink of her shirt was an almost identical shade to that of her hair.;

Like Argent, though, Jinx still wore her boots from her costume.

"You really think so?" Jinx asked, removing one of her black hair ties.

Argent nodded vigorously. "Oh definitely! I was wondering how you were going to dress around your hair, and you've done a really good job!"

"Thanks." Jinx removed her other hair tie. "I figured why try to fight it? Pink's my color."

"What're you doing with your hair?" Argent asked skeptically, watching as Jinx pocketed her hair ties.

The sorceress smiled. "Watch."

She snapped her fingers together and the pink energy of her magic danced around her head for a few moments. Instantly Jinx's hair straightened out and fell about her shoulders, reaching about halfway down her back.

Argent blinked. "Neato."

"Yeah. I just gave myself a bad hair day," Jinx shrugged. "Bad luck, remember?"

"What are you talking about, love?" Argent said, studying Jinx's new hair style. "It looks great!"

Jinx smiled. "For me, this _is_ a bad hair day. Trust me."

"Well," Argent said. "If that's your definition of 'bad hair day', I'd trade lives with you an an instant! Can you even imagine what I have to go through to keep this unruly mop of mine cooperating with me?" Argent gestured to her own spiky hair to emphasis her point.

Jinx gave a small laugh. "No, I can't."

"Well, it's a lot of work, I can assure you of that."

Jinx just smiled. "Anyway, I'd better grab the stuff I'm gonna get. Did you notice the boys aren't hanging around anymore?"

"I did," Argent nodded. "Must've chickened out. Oh, well. We'll find 'em."

"Oh, we'd better," Jinx grinned. "I have unfinished business with one of them."


	10. Communication

Herald looked around with concealed amusement at the odd gathering that he was a part of: Kid Flash, Hot Spot, Jericho, and of course him.

The quartet was certainly a truly unique one.

They were all sitting around of of the tables at Jamba Juice, sipping their drinks, and Herald along with Jericho were watching an enthralling discussion taking place between Kid Flash and Hot Spot.

"No man I am telling you, Jason Bourne could totally destroy whoever the hell it is you're talking about," Hot Spot shrugged. "He just could. Didn't you see the Bourne movies? He took out everyone!"

Kid Flash shook his head. "No freakin' way could Bourne take Bryan Mills. No way in hell. Yes, I will admit that Bourne took out a bunch of people, but Bryan Mills _destroyed_ a bunch of people. More dudes heads were slammed into shit in that one movie than any other movie I can think of."

"What movie was this dude even _in_?" Hot Spot asked. "I have never even heard his name. _Ever_."

"Taken!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "You know, the movie where that dude's daughter is kidnapped in Europe? And he's ex CIA? And he destroys people?"

Kid Flash lowered his voice, making it gravely and rough. "I will find you... And I will _kill_ you!"

"Never saw that one," Hot Spot admitted.

"Well, I saw all the Bourne movies and, over edited as they were, the were okay." Kid Flash said. "But there's no way he could take down Bryan Mills. I mean, come on! Liam Neeson is only like the biggest bad ass in Hollywood!"

"I dunno," Hot Spot shrugged again. "Bourne's pretty bad ass."

"All right," Kid Flash started. "You, me, popcorn, and whoever else wants to join in. We're gonna watch Taken, and then you'll see that Bryan Mills would _destroy_ Jason Bourne. An day of the _week_."

"Okay, we'll watch your movie," Hot Spot smiled. "But, like I said, Bourne would win."

Kid Flash then launched full force into a whole new rant about why his movie character would beat Hot Spot's movie character. Herald, having seen neither of the debaters' lobbied films, had absolutely no frame of reference to make any informed decision about just who was right. He decided it best to see all of the movies in question before forming any concrete opinions about any of it.

Though, as bizarre and pointless as it was, discussing which fictional character would win in a fight, Herald did have to admit to himself that the people debating the matter itself did it in such a hilarious fashion, that it was hard to complain.

Herald glanced to his left, at Jericho who was also watching the debate and also looked similarly entranced. A small smile played about his lips, as his eyes darted back and forth between Hot Spot and Kid Flash as both made their respective points.

Herald allowed himself a small smile as well, as he unconsciously fiddled with the silver horn he always carried. Though his costume was stashed away in the one shopping bag of his, he would not, for a single second, have the horn out of immediate reach. And as odd as it may've looked for a teenager to be carrying a horn around with him at a mall (Herald wished very much that his relatively unknown status as a Titan would prevent him from drawing too much suspicion) he still refused to stash the horn away.

He listened to Kid Flash and Hot Spot for a few moments more; the pair seemed not to notice either his or Jericho's presence anymore. They were far too enraptured in their ever heated discussion to notice much of anything.

Herald glanced again at Jericho. "So, Jericho, you speak sign language, right?"

Jericho looked at him and smiled. He signed with his hands what Herald could only assumed meant yes.

"Cool," Herald nodded. "I'm gonna learn that. You understand us just fine. It's time someone understood _you_."

He meant it, too. Herald could only imagine that despite being a settled in hero with a city to protect, there would be many, many quiet opportunities. Plenty of time for someone as sharp as he to learn another language.

During the final battle with The Brotherhood of Evil, Herald and Jericho had been forty percent of the group that had stormed the Brotherhood's stronghold in France. And in that short time, they had become fast friends. Jericho, obviously, was quite quiet, as was Herald. And the pair had quickly discovered that they didn't need to communicate much at all, really. After the final battle with The Brotherhood, the pair had played numerous games of chess during the downtime they had had at the original Titan's Tower. And that's all the friendship had needed to solidify. They were the rare type of friends that didn't have to say or really do much at all the be good friends.

They just were.

But even if they didn't need to speak much to be friends, Herald did admit to himself that the the least he could do was learn to understand Jericho. Maybe then consistent communication would be possible. Jericho did seem pretty smart after all, and it would be a shame to not be able to understand what the boy had to say.

Jericho nodded and smiled. He made a complicated series of gestures, and ended to performance with a universally understood thumbs up.

Herald smiled. "When I can understand whatever that was, things'll be a lot easier."

Jericho just smiled, and made a gesture to Hot Spot and Kid Flash, who were still at each other's throats over just who was right.

"I know, they're children," Herald said. "But hey, it's entertaining as hell."

Jericho nodded once, as his eyes resumed darting back and forth between the arguing Titans.

Herald smiled. It would be different being on a team. Very different. He had lived a very solitary life for such a long time that constant interaction with people would really be a noticeable difference. He didn't regret his decision to join a team at all, though. As solitary a person as he was, he did admit that it would be unfortunate to go through life not experiencing the joys of friends. Youth was fleeting, after all. And one of the most defining facets of any youth's life were their friends.

Not to mention, from a logical point of view (the view that Herald usually had) being on a team was a considerable tactical advantage. If the war with The Brotherhood of Evil had proved anything, it had most certainly proven that Titans operating on their own could be in severe danger. The Brotherhood had ambushed and picked off so many solitary Titans that Herald counted his blessings that they had emerged victorious at all. And even if Herald was one of those solitary Titans that had managed to defeat the ambush party sent after him, he wasn't looking forward to any other situations similar to it.

Being on a team made it much harder to single any of them out. And even if some (Herald's attention turned back to Hot Spot and Kid Flash) behaved like children sometimes, Herald knew from the final battle with The Brotherhood what his teammates were capable of. As he thought about the team he was now on, Herald truly believed that the six of them could really do some damage to that crime problem in Obsidian City.

Herald simply knew he was on a potentially damn good team.

"Okay, okay!" Kid Flash said to Hot Spot. "I'll admit your argument has merit, but it's coming from a completely uninformed point of view. Since you have not seen Taken, you cannot possibly make an informed decision one way or another regarding who would kick whose ass. So for now, I call for a recess in proceedings until you have a chance to see Taken. And once that happens, if you still cannot accept that Bryan Mills would totally vaporize Jason Bourne in a straight up, legit throw down, than you'll have at least seen both points of view and then we can continue our discussion... Deal?"

Hot Spot nodded. "You have a point, Flash. I accept your proposal."

He smiled. "But Bourne would win."

Kid Flash rubbed his eyes. "For the love of God..."

Both Herald and Jericho just smiled.


	11. Played

It had only taken Jinx a few minutes to purchase her new clothes, and she (much like Argent had said she had been) was excited to see the Titan's credit card in action.

Now, with arms laden with shopping bags, the two girls made their way out of the store and into the mall beyond.

"Now for a start, that didn't go so bad," Argent said with a grin. "Especially with how bleak it was all looking for a bit, there."

Jinx nodded. "Definitely."

The girls were now in the center of the mall's main hallway; stores lined either side for a considerable distance. The pair stopped and glanced around, unsure of where to go next.

"Now..." Argent muttered. "I wonder where those boys got off to..."

Jinx shrugged, a gesture that took more effort than usual, as she had a large shopping bag clutched in each hand. "Beats me..."

"Oh, wait!" Argent exclaimed. "She put her shopping bags down, and sifted through the one that contained her costume. Jinx watched, wondering what the girl was up to. It took a few moments, but after fishing around in the bag, Argent dug out her black communicator.

"Ah ha!" she said.

Argent flipped the communicator open and started pushing buttons. "Now if I could just figure out how to get it to work..."

"What're you trying to do?" Jinx questioned curiously.

Argent glanced at her. "Well, each communicator can be tracked using the other communicators. If I could just figure out how to work the bloody thing, we could find out where the boys are."

Jinx smiled, wishing she had thought of that. Of course each communicator could be tracked! That was the whole point of having them. If a Titan was in trouble and couldn't actually radio in where they were themselves, the rest of the team could find out their location by tracking their communicator.

Continuing to fiddle with the buttons on her communicator, Argent sighed. "Again, that's only _if_ I could figure this stupid thing out... We'd all better learn how to do this, because this isn't gonna cut it if one of us gets in a scrape and needs help."

But the tracking became pointless soon after that. Jinx glanced at the nearby Jamba Juice and almost instantly spotted Kid Flash, his hair being a dead giveaway.

"There they are," Jinx said. "Jamba Juice."

Argent looked up. "Ah, excellent! Let's just pop on in, then. See if they missed us."

The girls gathered their various shopping bags and headed to the Jamba Juice.

"So..." Argent said conversationally. "What're you think about being a charge? Being the leader, I mean."

Jinx shrugged. She downplayed it, but the truth was that that very subject hadn't been far from her thoughts all day. She simply couldn't believe she had been chosen by Robin to lead this team. Perhaps if she was known only to Robin by reputation it may have made more sense, but that wasn't the case at all. Jinx and her various H.I.V.E. companions and Robin's branch of Teen Titans had gone head to head on so many occasions that Jinx was hard pressed to even count them. The fact that Robin, the leader of the team she had fought so many times, had chosen her to lead this team was nothing short of baffling.

She wondered if maybe Kid Flash had spoken to Robin and had heavily vouched for her. That would make sense. But even still, Robin simply didn't trust people easily. Jinx made a mental note to ask Kid Flash about it all sometime. See if he had had anything to do with it.

As the girls made their way to the Jamba Juice, Jinx let her thoughts wonder to the fact that she was now on, not just a new team, but a team on the right side of the law. It was a little surreal and she wasn't at all used to the idea yet. But, it did feel satisfying somehow. Her life, her entire existence, had basically been wasted. What had she really accomplished with her life of petty crime? What positive impact had she yielded anywhere? What impact at all, really?

Ever since she could remember, Jinx had wanted to be someone. Someone important, or at the very least someone well known. She had thought that by maybe getting an invitation into The Brotherhood of Evil she would be on a much grander stage to prove her worth. She had gone so far to pursue this goal that she had even tried to hand over Kid Flash to The Brotherhood just to be noticed by them. Only, at the time, Jinx hadn't known at all the cleverness and downright resourcefulness of Kid Flash. He had, single handedly, made her team of six look like complete fools. Not that they weren't anyway, but it still did sting at the time. But, in that short span of time that he had been her 'prisoner' he had made her rethink absolutely everything. She still didn't know how he had done it.

But now, here she was: At a mall shopping for street clothes to wear on a road trip to a city that she and five other Titans under her command would protect.

Perhaps surreal wasn't a strong enough word.

Jinx and Argent entered to Jamba Juice and were spotted instantly by Jericho, who smiled widely and waved them over to their table. He then got up, collected two more chairs and planted them next to each other on one end of the table.

Jinx returned his smile.

By now the three other boys were aware of the girls' presence as well.

"Hey," Hot Spot said.

Herald simply nodded.

But Kid Flash had eyes as wide as saucers as he looked at Jinx. "Jinx... You look... _amazing_..."

Jinx blinked. "Thank you."

"Hey!" Hot Spot said. "Argent does look to shabby, either."

Argent put her bags down and put her hands on her hips. "Doesn't look too _shabby_?" she questioned Hot Spot, raising an eyebrow.

"Smooth, dude," Kid Flashed laughed.

"I mean, uh..." Hot Spot coughed. "You look really good, Argent."

Argent settled herself into one of the chairs Jericho had grabbed. "Better."

Jinx sat as well.

"Jinx, your hair," Kid Flash stated.

"Oh yeah, that," Jinx shrugged, idly running her fingers through her pink hair which was now freely down. "It's nothing, really."

Argent laughed. "She gave herself a bloody bad hair day! I'm not kidding! Those are her exact words!"

"Well it wouldn't be too subtle if I was walking around in here with my normal hairstyle now would it?" Jinx shrugged again.

"It looks really good, Jinx," Kid Flash said.

"Well, don't get used to it," Jinx replied. "I prefer it the regular way."

Kid Flash just smiled. "Your call, Boss."

Jinx raised and eyebrow. "Your new nickname for me?"

"Yep," Kid Flash nodded. "You _are_ in charge, after all. And don't the rest of you worry one bit. You'll all get one eventually. Hot Spot's already Spotty, and you're Boss, Jinx. I'll figure out others as they come to me."

"Oh, _goodie_," Argent rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Kid Flash said to her. "You should consider yourself lucky. I could've been lazy and simply went with 'Gent' or 'Genty' Or Gentlemen's Agreement'. Or something."

Argent grinned evilly. "You do that, I'll _kill_ you."

"That's what I figured," Kid Flash explained. "But my point was... Um... be grateful, or something."

"Nice," Hot Spot said.

"But my real point in the first place was that both Jinx and Argent look lovely." Kid Flash interlaced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "Case closed."

"Thanks, Flash," Argent said. "That means the world coming from _you_."

"I try."

Jericho had simply watched the entire exchange with a look of amusement.

"Would either of you girls like to order something?" Herald spoke for the first time.

Argent nodded. "Yeah, I will in a sec. Jinx?"

"Yeah, I think I will. It's not like we're in a rush or anything, I guess."

"I got nowhere to be," Kid Flash said.

"Same here," Hot Spot added, glancing at the girls' shopping bags. "Did you girls get enough stuff, by the way?"

"Well, at the one store, yeah," Argent replied. "But, we've got all day. Who knows where we're gonna go from here?"

"I do," Jinx said, looking at Kid Flash. "Clothing store of your choice, Flash."

"Ah, so we're doing that now, are we?" Kid Flash looked amused.

"Oh, yeah," Jinx nodded. "You're mine now, boy."

Hot Spot let out a laugh. "Dress up time for Flash!"

Kid Flash sighed. "I guess so, Spotty. I guess so."

And the smile on his face told Jinx all she needed to know. She had walked right into his trap. He had wanted her to pick clothes out for him, he had only pretended he hadn't because he knew Jinx would want to if he didn't want to. But now... Now he didn't seem at all to mind. Earlier, in fact, he had even offered to. But at that time Jinx had thought he had only done so to make up for his running off.

He was truly clever, this one. Jinx smiled, not letting anyone else know that she had just realized she had been played. She still did want to pick out clothes for him even if it wouldn't embarrass him... Or would it..? Jinx didn't even know what to think. She couldn't anticipate this boy at all. And that pissed her off. And she couldn't even figure out her own feelings about him. And that pissed her off more.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kid Flash. Of course.

"But you ladies should grab a drink first. Then we'll get on with it."


	12. Proof

Jericho just smiled as he watched the scene unfold before him.

The Titans had, over twenty minutes ago, left the Jamba Juice and had fractured into several groups. Herald and Hot Spot had opted to check out the electronic store, and the other four Titans had ended up in the clothing store that Kid Flash had run off to when they had first arrived at the mall. Argent had then left after a few minutes to go see what Herald and Hot Spot were up to. She told Jinx with a grin that the pink haired sorceress had things under control, and to have fun dressing up Kid Flash.

Argent had extended the offer to Jericho, who had politely declined. Kid Flash had a pretty good choice in stores, it seemed, and Jericho had decided to finish his shopping in this one. Taking Herald's advice and favoring blue, Jericho had whipped right through the store, grabbing everything he'd imagine he'd need for an eight day trip. He didn't realize he could be such an efficient shopper, and was completely done in about fifteen minutes.

He had purchased all the items and now had three full shopping bags to his name.

Now, sitting crossed legged in a corner of the store, Jericho listened with much amusement as Jinx made Kid Flash try stuff on. They had only been here twenty minutes, but Kid Flash made it sound like it had been an absolute eternity. It was truly puzzling, trying to figure the speedster out. Jericho, although incredibly observant, still couldn't figure the boy out. First, he made shopping seem like the most awful thing in the world. Then, he seemed fine with it, like he had been messing with Jinx to get into such a personal environment with her. And now, he was making it seem like it was the most awful thing in the world again, but Jericho could easily detect the traces of humor in Kid Flash's voice. That made Jericho wonder if Kid Flash truly was having a good time, and was merely pretending he was not.

It wasn't a secret that Kid Flash had a thing for Jinx. Every Titan knew as much. But up to this point, Jinx hadn't displayed many reciprocal feelings. It wasn't hard to tell, for Jericho anyway, that Jinx was confused beyond belief regarding her emotional standpoint to the speedster. She hadn't figured out one way or another if she returned his feelings. And she was probably just plain confused (and frustrated) over the whole affair.

Jericho was quite interested to see how it all ultimately played out.

Jinx currently had Kid Flash trapped in the changing room. They had picked stuff out for nearly twenty minutes, and then Jinx had forced him (under penalty of bad luck magic) into a changing room to try it all on. Jinx stood outside the rooms and the pair nearly had to shout to each other to carry on a conversation.

"Look, I just like white," Kid Flash was saying, "I have no idea why it looks so damn good on me. It just does!"

"It makes you look like a prep!" Jinx retorted. "You need color."

"Can't you just live with it?" Kid Flash pleaded. "It's only for like a week!"

Jinx sighed. "Nope. Now keep trying stuff on!"

"Yes ma'am..."

Jericho laughed to himself as he glanced at the cashier. The woman had a look of bafflement on her face. He caught the cashier's eye and shrugged, trying to convey in simple body language that the current interaction between Jinx and Kid Flash was quite normal in nature.

The woman seemed to understand.

"How many more items of clothing could there possibly be, Jinx?" Kid Flash asked with a groan.

"Not a lot. Now stop being a child and get on with it!"

"Am I going to have to try on the whole store before you let me go?"

"If you keep whining, that may be what'll happen!"

Of course, if Kid Flash really wanted to escape, it wouldn't have been very hard. He was fast, to state the obvious, and he could vibrate his molecules through solid matter. He wasn't an easy guy to contain. He was, of course, allowing this to happen to him.

Jericho leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, listening to the wonderfully amusing bickering. He had a hunch that this would be an aspect about the pair that wouldn't ever change much, no matter how close they ended up being. He then realized that he would be living with both of them, and wondered briefly if the bickering would ever get old. Jericho had a high level of patience, so he doubted it, but even so, these two made arguing seem like an art.

"Look," Jinx said evenly. "You're almost done. Just finish up and choose out like, eight shirts and four or five pairs of pants from what we picked out. Then you'll be done, okay?"

"You get final say over whether I get them, right?" Kid Flash muttered.

Jericho saw Jinx smile. "Naturally. Now hurry up."

The girl then spun on her heal and, noticing where Jericho was, made her way over to him.

"Man he is such a baby!" she exclaimed. She was smiling a bit though, as she flipped a strand of pink hair behind one ear.

"Mind if I sit?"

Jericho shook his head, and motioned to the patch of unoccupied floor next to him.

"Thanks." Jinx sat a breathed a huge sigh. "He's totally letting me do this to him. I don't understand why he's pretending he hates it."

Jericho just shrugged. If he ever figured out why Kid Flash did the things he did, Jericho would probably write an essay on the subject.

"He's so weird," Jinx continued. "I just don't get him."

Jericho nodded sympathetically. There was no way he could use simple gestures to formulate a response to such a statement. He was used to that though, at least. He had lived his entire life not being able to communicate more then a simple 'yes' or 'no' to most other people. And as for talking to a girl about a boy she may or may not like, Jericho was plain out of luck.

So, he settled on a shrug to go with his sympathetic nod.

"I don't suppose you've got him figured out, do you?" Jinx glanced at him.

Jericho shook his head.

"I didn't think so," Jinx said, disheartened.

Jericho adopted an apologetic expression, which made Jinx smile.

"Ah, don't worry about it," the girl said. "He's my problem. I'll sort it out."

Jericho nodded once. Jinx may've been a criminal for some time, but that didn't make her stupid. She seemed quite the opposite, and evidently others thought so as well. Robin had appointed her team leader after all, so the sorceress would have to be pretty sharp.

If anyone was going to figure out Kid Flash, it was going to be Jinx.

"So," Jinx began. "What made you join up?"

Jericho smiled and shrugged once. He had lots of reasons, of course. But, there were too many and it was far to complicated to even attempt to explain to her using hand gestures.

Though no one had ever outright said it, Jericho could tell by some of the looks he had received from the other Titans (Especially when he had been one of the five that had stormed The Brotherhood of Evil's stronghold in Paris) that many of them thought he was worthless. Not as a person of course, but as a hero. For one reason or another some simply didn't think Jericho could hold a candle to other, more powerful Titans. And even though Jericho had proved many of these assumptions about him dead wrong in that final, pivotal assault on The Brotherhood's lair, he still knew that many of the Titans just didn't think he was up to par. He didn't suspect anyone on this particular team to have doubts about him, but he knew out there somewhere, some did.

He would be lying to himself if Jericho thought he wasn't trying to prove anything by joining a team, but that wasn't the only reason at all. He had agreed wholeheartedly when Hot Spot had said that working in a team would provide a for more comfortable environment, but yet again the reasons steamed farther than that as well.

Truth was, there were so many reasons why Jericho had accepted Robins offer, that even he didn't think he could list them all.

The offer to join a team had been there, and for whatever reason (or combination of reasons) Jericho had signed right up.

If he himself didn't understand what exactly had motivated him to join a team, how could he possibly communicate any reasons at all to Jinx? He simply couldn't.

So, he settled on his shrug and gestured to Jinx, asking her the same question.

She understood the gesture.

"Me?" she said quietly. "Well... I guess I have a lot to prove. I have a lot of trust among the Titans to gain, and I needed an opportunity to do it. I figured this would be the best way to prove that I really want to be different. That I want to change. I never thought I'd actually be in charge, though..."

Jericho smiled. It was returned by Jinx.

"Yeah, Robin's crazy I know. But I'll do my best."

Jericho nodded. He knew she would. There was never anything that motivated a person more than wanting to prove something to others. Jinx wanted to prove she was on the good side now, and Jericho wanted to prove that he wasn't a complete waste.

They were both in the same boat, though only one of them realized it.

"By the way," Jinx said, "I've been thinking,., You and I need to get together and discuss strategy. You have quite the abilities, Jericho, and I think you're going to be our wild card."

Jericho raised an eyebrow.

"I mean," Jinx continued, "that you've really got a gift. We can really use it."

Jericho smiled.

Perhaps he had little to really prove after all.


	13. Favorite

"I wonder if Flash'll survive," Hot Spot commented as he and Herald made their way through the crowd of the mall to the electronics store.

"I'm sure the Kid'll be fine," Herald shrugged. "It was totally his plan to end up in that predicament. He knows what he's doing."

Hot Spot smiled. "Trying to get close to Jinx?"

"Bingo."

The pair passed a few more stores in silence.

"So what's it like? Where you're from?" Hot Spot glanced at Herald.

"My dimension?" Herald asked.

"Yeah."

"Well," Herald said. "It's quiet, if you know how to keep from pissing the inhabitants off."

Herald smiled.

"So, for me, it's just quiet."

"Ah," Hot Spot said. He didn't know a lot about his mysterious companion, but he knew enough to know that Herald probably wasn't going to say much else on the subject.

It was going to be an interesting ride, Hot Spot mused, being on this team. Teams were, of course, completely foreign to him, but he had made his choice and he was going to stick too it. Plus, the team seemed pretty cool.

So far, anyway.

Hot Spot and Herald reached the electronics store, and surprisingly, Herald interrupted Hot Spot's thoughts.

"There's a book store right over there," Herald stated. "I'm gonna run over there for a few minutes."

Hot Spot nodded. "Looking for a particular book?"

"Yes. I'll be right back."

"Kay, cool," Hot Spot said. Not a huge fan of reading, or being in bookstores, Hot Spot decided not to offer to go with Herald. Not to mention Herald seemed to know exactly what he was after, so it probably wouldn't take long, anyway.

The Titans went their temporary separate ways, and Hot Spot entered the electronic store, making a beeline for the DVD section. He was going to find a copy of that movie Kid Flash had been ranting about. Taken, it was called. Hot Spot had to read the DVD summary, see what all of the rage for this movie was about.

There was no way that a normal human (which Kid Flash had assured him the main character from Taken was) could take out Jason Bourne. Except if it was maybe one of Bruce Lee's characters. Hot Spot smiled. That _that_ guy could fight.

As Hot Spot browsed through the many shelves of DVDs, he found himself thinking again, about how very different his life was going to be from now on. Hot Spot had always wondered if he feared change, and the past few days had made him certain of it. He was used to being alone. Used to not taking any orders from anyone. Used to relying only on himself. True, he knew that life would be easier in certain regards on a team. He wouldn't always have to keep one eye open when he slept, knowing that he had others to back him up. It would make him all the more dominant in a fight, having a team fighting with him. But, even so, Hot Spot figured he would probably miss the days of being alone, being on his own.

These were, of course, all thoughts he had had when Robin had first offered him a spot on the new team, and Hot Spot had already pondered over all the angles, the pros and cons, and every conceivable vantage point regarding it.

He may've been hotheaded, and somewhat arrogant, but Hot Spot knew enough about himself to know that even if he feared change, he needed to do this. He didn't even know all the reasons for exactly why, he just knew that he needed to accept Robin's offer and join this team.

The fight with Madam Rouge, when he was captured and frozen, did play a large role in his decision. She had kicked his ass all over the map. She had proven to him that he wasn't nearly as good as he had thought he was. He had ended up frozen, and may've stayed that way forever had the Titans (against all odds) stormed The Brotherhood's base and set him, and all the other frozen Titans, free.

He was going to do this. He was going to jump right in and see where this road led him.

Hot Spot was just beginning the think about what life in Obsidian City would be like when he was shoved roughly from behind.

"Boo!" a voice exclaimed as Hot Spot jumped a mile.

He whirled around, ready for a fight, and saw that is was only Argent, who was doubled over in a fit of laughter.

"Oh. My. God! You should've seen your _face_!" she exclaimed breathlessly, trying to contain her laughter.

Hot Spot felt the warmth leave his body. He had been only moments away from powering up to defend himself.

"Jesus, Argent!" Hot Spot said loudly. "I could've fried you!"

He wondered how in the world Argent had even snuck up on him. She must've been amazingly quiet.

Argent continued laughing. "But you didn't, did you? So it's all cool."

She grinned wildly. "Oh, I _totally_ got you!"

Hot Spot sighed. "Well, don't do that..."

Argent got her laughter under control. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I promise I won't do that to you again." She crossed her heart to add emphasis. "But you have to bloody admit, that was absolutely _hilarious_."

She smiled, and nudged him. "Come on, then. Relax and admit I got you."

"Will it get you to leave me alone?" Hot Spot felt the anger that had been beginning to form suddenly melt away.

Argent continued smiling. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Fine," Hot Spot sighed. "You got me. You're awesome, amazing and wonderful. Now _please_ don't do that again."

Argent nodded, trying to keep from smiling again. "Deal."

"What're you doing here, anyway?" Hot Spot asked. "I thought you and Jinx were going to torment Kid Flash."

"Oh, we were totally doing that," Argent replied. "But after a couple minutes I figured she had it under control. Plus, there's just so much romantic tension between those two, I'm sometimes afraid that I'll be caught in the middle of it."

She shrugged. "You think _you_ could've fried me? What if I got in the middle of one of _their_ little episodes?"

Hot Spot winced. "Yeah, that could be bad."

"For _my_ health, anyway," Argent agreed. "So, I decided to see what you and Herald were up to."

She glanced around the store. "Where is Mr. Mystery, anyway?"

"At that book store a few stores down," Hot Spot gestured towards it. "Said he'd be back soon."

"Ah," Argent said. "Looks like it's you and me for a bit, then."

Hot Spot nodded. "Looks like it."

Hot Spot then, for perhaps the first time, really looked at Argent. She was beautiful. And that was being modest. Her red eyes, silver skin, even her spiky hair; she was gorgeous.

And really, really tiny.

Well, compared to Hot Spot anyway. And he was over six feet tall.

"Earth to Hot Spot?" she was saying. "Where'd you go?"

Hot Spot snapped out of his mild trance.

"You okay, there?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah... Yeah," Hot Spot said. "No problem. Just thinking about being on a team now. How my life is pretty much completely changed."

"Tell me about it," Argent sighed. I'm gonna miss home, lemme tell ya. But," she shrugged, "we're gonna be making a difference somewhere that needs it."

"True," Hot Spot nodded.

"Anyway," Argent looked around the store. "What're you after?"

"Oh, um... A movie that Kid Flash recommended. I was just looking for it." Hot Spot gestured to the rows of DVDs.

"Ah, cool," Argent glanced at the DVDs. "Yeah, I'm gonna go look at the music section over there." She pointed to show where she meant.

"Kay, cool," Hot Spot nodded.

Argent waited for a few moments to see if he was going to say anything else. He didn't, so she just smiled a little.

"Right, then," she waved. "Toodles."

Hot Spot watched her go. He resumed looking for the DVD he was after, but as he glanced up to see Argent perusing through the rows of CDs, he suddenly lost interest in looking for Taken.

He then found himself walking towards her.

She looked up as he arrived and waited for him to say something.

"I uh..." Hot Spot stuttered. "I was wondering if you needed any help looking for something?"

Argent remained still for a few moments before she smiled. "Sure, if you're willing. I'm looking for anything by Lisa Gerrard, or maybe Dead Can Dance. Both are kind hard to find, so it's always a little treasure hunt when I decide to look."

"Who's Lisa Gerrard?" Hot Spot questioned.

"Oh, she's just my favorite singer ever," Argent said.

"Never heard of her..." Hot Spot muttered.

Argent smiled. "Don't worry about it. No one has. She's really good, though not for all tastes. She also composed the music for my second favorite movie of all time: Whale Rider."

"Second favorite?" Hot Spot asked. "What's your favorite, favorite?"

Argent just grinned.

"Maybe you'll find out sometime."


	14. Virtual Carnage

"Let me illuminate something for you, BB," Kid Flash said, not looking away from the screen.

"What would that be?" the green changeling replied, also not for one moment tearing his eyes from the huge television that was the centerpiece of the Tower's main room.

For to look away from the screen meant a possible instant death, and Kid Flash, Herald, Hot Spot and Beast Boy all knew it.

The Third Team had finished their mall excursion about an hour ago, and were now stalling until seven thirty, when they would go to dinner at one of the nice restaurants that Robin had recommended. Kid Flash had, as soon as they had arrived back through one of Herald's portals, gone to collect Beast Boy and the rousing match of Halo 3 had begun. Naturally Hot Spot wanted in, and it hadn't taken much convincing to get Herald to join either. Jericho had opted to watch the carnage, and now sat on one end of the large semi circular couch, eyes alight and wide like he was watching the summer's best big budget special effects movie.

Now, the four Titans who were playing were concentrating solely on killing each other in what was perhaps the most brutal Halo 3 slayer match that the Tower had ever hosted.

"Shopping," Kid Flash said, answering Beast Boy's question, "is _not_ fun."

Beast Boy laughed, as he maneuvered his game character into a firing position on Hot Spot. "Well, _duh_."

"Dammit!" Hot Spot said as Beast Boy killed him with several well placed shots.

"That's right, boys!" Beast Boy smiled. "Who's winning now?"

It's just home field advantage, that's all," Kid Flash smiled, concentrating. "It'll wear off."

And Beast Boy's character was suddenly killed by a well placed sniper shot.

"Dude! Who did that?!"

"Moi," Kid Flash smiled wider. "I believe it's now a tie... Nope, sorry Herald. I'm winning now."

Herald smiled a bit to himself as he died again, also picked off by a Kid Flash sniper shot. He had never played this game before tonight, and was in a solid fourth place. He was getting absolutely slaughtered, but he didn't much mind. It was the company he was here for, not the game.

"Woah there, Spotty," Kid Flash exclaimed as Hot Spot climbed into a tank and began raining pure destruction on the speedster's location. "Where's the fire?"

Hot Spot smiled. But the satisfaction was short lived, as Beast Boy, using a recently acquired rocket launcher, destroyed Hot Spot's tank and killed him in the process.

"Dammit," Hot Spot said again.

"_Dude_!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as his character died again. "Herald just shot me in the back!"

"It was the the part of you that was facing me," Herald shrugged.

Kid Flash laughed.

"Well at least he's not camping like _some_ people!" Beast Boy muttered.

"Who me?" Kid Flash responded innocently.

"Yeah, why don't you come out of that building and fight me like a man?" Beast Boy said.

"I am out of the building, smart one," Kid Flash explained. "I was only hanging out in there in the first place because Spotty over there had me pinned down with a freakin' tank. I ain't answering the door when one of those knocks."

"Well, where are you, then?" Beast Boy asked.

"Here."

And Beast Boy was picked off at long range once again.

"Holy crap! How are you doing that?!" Beast Boy cried.

"Skills, baby," Kid Flash grinned. "Skills."

Hot Spot used a grenade to kill a nearby Herald. "Who knew that the Kid was such a damn good sniper?"

"If I had known," Beast Boy grunted, "I may not've challenged him in the first place."

"But ya did," Kid Flash said. "Oh and bang bang, you're dead, Spotty."

Hot Spot's character crumpled to the ground. "_Dammit_."

"Doing better than me, anyway," Herald stated plainly.

Jericho smiled at his friend. He had also never played this game (or any other video game) before, so he understood Herald's position. Though he had to admit, he was impressed that Herald was even competing at all with the other three Titans. They were all, as far as he could tell, pretty much pros at it, so for Herald to even be able to play with them at all (and even get a few kills to his name) was nothing short of amazing.

Herald added to this opinion when he crept up on Kid Flash and killed him with a grenade.

"Woah, there!" Kid Flash exclaimed.

"_Ha_!" Beast Boy pumped his fist in the air. "Your kill streak is over!"

"Yeah, until I start another one," Kid Flash replied.

Jericho continued smiling as he watched the four kill each other. Today had been, so far, nothing sort of utterly group had survived the mall (and even gotten everything they'd need for the road trip) and in about half an hour they'd all be going to dinner. Then tomorrow, they would be taught how to drive. Or for those who already knew, certified to do so.

What an adventure it was all turning out to be.

"Man, I miss Cy," Beast Boy said. "You think you're good, Flash? Cyborg's the _best_ at this game."

"Don't worry, BB." Kid Flash said. "We'll mail him back when we get to Obsidian."

"After we play a few rounds with him," Hot Spot added, running over Kid Flash with a Warthog.

"Nice," Kid Flash complimented. "I just want it to be known though, that for the record, in real life, I'm _much_ faster than that."

"Didn't save your life in the game," Hot Spot smiled.

"True."

"So, where's everyone else?" Hot Spot glanced at Beast Boy.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Who knows? I can bet that Raven's in her room and-"

"-Starfire and Robin are in Starfire's room," Kid Flash finished for him.

Beast Boy gave a mock shudder. "I don't want to picture that, Flash."

"Well, it's too late! You are!" Kid Flash grinned.

"I hate you..."

"You _really_ will in a sec," Kid Flash said.

And Beast Boy was sniped.

"You _just_ died!" Beast Boy had to restrain himself from hurling his controller at the screen. "How the hell do you keep getting sniper rifles!?"

"I have my ways," Kid Flash said, as Hot Spot and Jericho laughed at Beast Boy's most recent death. "And now if I could just find Hot Spot, my revenge will be complete."

"Bring it, boy," Hot Spot challenged.

"So, Beast Boy," a voice came from behind them. "Do you die _less_ or _more_ in real life?"

Only Jericho turned to see who was addressing them, though it was obvious by her accent who it was.

Argent, followed by Jinx were entering the Tower's main room, and Argent was smiling.

"Less I would hope," Kid Flash responded to her question. "If it was more, he'd be dead like, a thousand times over."

Argent laughed as she and Jinx joined the other five Titans on the couch, which was quickly running out of space. Jericho squeezed over to allow both girls to sit on the far end.

"What a wonderfully violent game," Argent said, watching the carnage unfold before her.

"It is kinda fun, though," Jinx replied.

Argent stared at her.

"What?" Jinx said. "I led a team with five immature boys. This was all they did!" She gestured to the television screen to emphasize her point.

"Well, now you're leading a team with _four_ immature boys, and it'll be _still_ all they do," Argent said.

Jinx watched the screen. "Yeah, it's starting to look like it."

"Oh, we'll do other things," Kid Flash assured her. "I'm just not sure what yet..."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

Kid Flash had remained just as non compliant as ever for the remainder of their mall trip, though somehow she had managed to get him to pick out decent clothes, and she figured he would look at least halfway good for their road trip.

"You missed!" Hot Spot said, bringing Jinx's attention back to the screen.

Kid Flash had just fired several rounds at Hot Spot that he had barely avoided.

"For now," Kid Flash agreed. "But vengeance will come. You better run, Spotty."

"Now this sounds serious..." Argent muttered sarcastically.

"Very," Kid Flash responded in kind.

"Herald shot me in the back _again_!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Well if your back would stop facing me, maybe I'd shoot some other part of you," Herald said.

"Who's winning this blood fest anyway?" Argent said.

"Yeah I wonder who _is_ winning..." Kid Flash said with a grin.

Beast Boy looked beyond pissed, but said nothing.

The match continued this way for nearly forty more minutes, before the conclusion was reached. A few minutes after that, seven thirty rolled around, and The Third Team left to go eat dinner.

For them, the real journey had yet to even begin.


	15. Dinner

"And then, and I'm not making this up, this guy, bare ass naked turns to me and says, 'Look, lady, I only wanted my cigarette lit!'" Argent broke down with laughter and the rest of the table soon joined her.

"Jesus Argent, that's freakin' funny!" Kid Flash exclaimed, taking a drink from his Coke. "And you're not kidding here?"

Argent shook her spiky haired head. "Not in the least. This guy was completely baked on acid or something, and was running around the middle of Auckland utterly naked." She shrugged. "I can only assume he really _was_ only looking for someone to light his damn cigarette."

"So what'd you do then?" Jinx asked, eyes wide with surprise over Argent predicament in this story.

Argent smiled and took a sip of her Shirley Temple. "I did what any rational girl would do-"

"-Run like hell?" Hot Spot asked, grinning.

"Well, I did think about that, lemme tell ya," Argent laughed. "But no. I encased this bloke in an energy box and waited ten minutes for the cops to show up. He wasn't happy about that in the least."

"So," Kid Flash said, "you did what any rational girl with super powers would do?"

"Damn skippy," Argent nodded. "If I were a _normal_ girl, I would've been out of there and wouldn't have stopped 'til I reached Queenstown."

Kid Flash smiled and raised his glass. "To Argent. The greatest threat to public nudity and disorderly conduct currently working today."

Hot Spot mirrored Flash and raised his own glass. "Here, here," he said.

"Oh, it was nothing," Argent played along with the toast. "Really. I was just in the right place at the right time."

Jinx smiled, grateful that Argent had gotten out of that mess unscathed and with her sanity seemingly intact. A new thought struck her and she turned to Flash. "What about you?"

"What about me, what?" Kid Flash asked, glancing at her.

"What was the weirdest criminal encounter you've ever had?"

"Now _this_ I wanna know," Hot Spot said eagerly.

Jericho nodded his approval of that statement. This would certainly be good.

Kid Flash thought about it for a few moments before cracking an ear to ear smile.

"Oh, hell," Argent groaned. "What have you _done_, Jinx?"

"Guess we'll find out," the pink haired girl smiled.

"All right, I was in New Jersey one night..." Kid Flash began. "And for those of you who don't know, New Jersey all by itself is bad enough. That place is a veritable hell on earth. Anyway, I had just cruised through Burger King and had dinner, and I was about to run my ass to Philly for the night, when, right outside the Burger King, this dude shows up."

"Dun dun _duh_," Hot Spot hummed the ubiquitous music for plot twists and other such surprises.

"We shall notify the media, Flash," Argent smiled at him.

"And if encountering a random guy outside a Burger King in Jersey _wasn't_ frightening enough," Kid Flash continued, "The particular fellow was wearing clothing that can best be described as a cross between what Sean Connery was wearing in Zardoz, and the general layout of most rooms on Pee Wee's playhouse."

"You lost me..." Hot Spot said.

"Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?" Argent agreed.

"Never mind," Kid Flash waved them off. "Suffice it to say this was one weird dude."

He paused for a moment, glancing around the restaurant's table at the five other Titans, all showing varying degrees of interest to see how his story would turn out.

"Anyway," Kid Flash said. "This guy, he's got this real crazy look in his his eyes. And I mean really crazy, even by New Jersey standards. And he walks up to me, and at this point I'm determined to find out what the hell's going on. So I don't book it out of there like most rational people would do. No, no. I wait around to see what this guy's gonna do."

"Brilliant move," Jinx said, rolling her eyes. "But I can only assume you weren't brutally killed or something."

"You'd be correct," Kid Flash grinned. "So this guy asks me if I've spoken to God recently."

"Nice," Hot Spot said. "Had you?"

"Not that I could recall," Kid Flash responded. "And I informed this wonderful gentlemen of that fact."

"What'd he do then." Jinx asked.

"Well, that when he became unpleasant," Kid Flash shrugged. "He pulled a knife on me and I think his general plan was to mug me. I was in full costume and there couldn't possibly be any doubt that I was a super hero, but he still came at me."

Kid Flash shrugged again. "So I punched him out. Bam. Unconscious instantly. Then I called the cops to inform them that I had just apprehended a weirdo. Turns out he hadn't just tried to rob me that night, but had actually mugged a dozen other people and was presumably going into Burger King to either grab a burger or perhaps mug everyone in there. Maybe both."

The end of the story got laughs from almost every Titan present. Even Herald smiled a bit.

"I know it ain't as funny as Argent's nude friend, but that still is the strangest criminal I've ever seen. You had to have been there to see him to get the full effect."

Kid Flash smiled and took another sip of his Coke. "Only in Jersey."

The six Titans had already been at the restaurant over twenty minutes. It was a nice place, family oriented but still upper class and had quite a diverse menu to boot. The Titans had ordered a few moment prior so it would be a few more minutes until their orders arrived, So, for now, small talk was the appetizer.

Jericho watched the conversation with rapt attention. He was, not for the first time that day, astounded with how amusing all of his new teammates were not to mention how well everyone seemed to get along.

From the short time where all the Teen Titans were gathered in Jump City after the decisive final battle with The Brotherhood of Evil, Jericho had ascertained that it seemed most if not all of the Titans got along with the rest of them. But, if anything, this particular group took that general theme to the next level.

It was really nice to see, Jericho mused. Things looked to be off to a good start.

Jericho glanced around the table at his new team, all dressed in their civilian clothing, and almost unrecognizable (for the most part) to the outside world. It looked like Robin's team bonding plans were spot on in their assumptions that doing everyday tasks like shopping, going out for dinner, and eventually a road trip, were exactly the kind of things a budding team needed to get to know all of the members.

Once again, Robin had had a plan. And once again it was working.

"Well about about Herald over there?" Kid Flash was saying. "What're some of the strange villains of your life?"

Herald smiled a little. "I'm afraid I don't have any good ones like your or Argent," he informed them. "Guess my life isn't as exciting as it should be."

Kid Flash shrugged. "Well, you're alive at least. Argent and I coulda been freakin' _killed_ by our close encounters."

"Amen," Argent agreed.

"What about Spotty?" Kid Flash asked the pyrokenetic Titan.

Hot Spot snorted. "Nah. Not much weirdo villain excitement in my life either. I'm starting the feel left out."

"Jericho?" Kid Flash glanced at the mute Titan.

Jericho smiled, shook his head and shrugged. He really didn't have anything out of the ordinary to report, and even if he did, how would he report it anyway?

"Well, I won't even bother asking Jinx about the bizarre villains she's dealt with. She _worked_ with five of them."

Jinx rolled her eyes as Hot Spot and Jericho laughed. "_Ouch_, Flash, she said, using her trademark sarcastic delivery. "That _hurt_."

"I bet it did," Kid Flash said. "Anyway, wonder what your wonderful little ex team is up to these days."

Jinx shrugged. She considered it much. She'd been far too busy adjusting herself to the life of a hero.

"Who knows, who cares," she said.

Kid Flash's response was cut off by the arrival of their orders.

"Excellent!" he said, looking hungrily at the very large cheeseburger he had ordered. Though the rest of the team had yet to discover it, they would eventually learn that no matter how nice the restaurant, if they had a cheeseburger on the menu, Kid Flash would order it.

The main humor here, though, was the fact that Jericho had ordered the ceaser salad, and he sat right next to Kid Flash.

"Lovin' the contrast there," Argent declared, noticing the vast difference of the two Titan's dietary habits.

"Yeah, he's a vegetablesaurus and I'm a meatavore. It's the makings of a wonderful sitcom with awful laugh tracks," Kid Flash said, biting into his burger. "Charbroiled!" he exclaimed around the mouthful. "The absolute _best_!"

"Mouth _closed_ when you eat," Jinx reminded him with a crinkled nose.

"Sorry..."

Argent laughed as she glanced at Hot Spot, who was digging into spicy buffalo wings with gusto. "Remember to use a napkin there, Spotty," she said.

Hot Spot gave a thumbs up, and took another huge bite of a wing.

Argent glanced at Flash. "Looks like this whole _team_ is the making of a sitcom with awful laugh tracks."

Kid Flash swallowed another large mouthful of burger. "I think you're on to something there."

Argent smiled and raised her Shirley Temple. "To the first successful day of The Third Team of Teen Titans."

One by one, the remaining Titans raised their various drinks.

Kid Flash smiled.

"To The Third Team."


	16. Punch Buggy!

"Are we _there_ yet?"

Jinx rolled her eyes but said nothing, trying her very hardest not to take the bait.

Unfortunately, someone else did.

Uh, bro…" Hot Spot said from the back of the Suburban. "We're still in Jump City. And you're the one driving…"

"Psh," Kid Flash retorted, eyes concentrating on the road. "I can still be juvenile, thank you."

"And how," Jinx sighed.

"Now, with that attitude, this is going to be a _very_ long trip," Kid Flash muttered.

Jinx just closed her eyes and shook her head. They weren't even five minutes out of Jump City yet, and she wasn't going to let him get to her this quick. Maybe an hour or two from now, but not just yet. She had to have some self control, and she was determined to make this a personal challenge of sorts.

Why not?

They were going to take eight days to do a trip that could take about forty hours, so Jinx supposed she had to put up with Kid Flash, in the close confines of a car, for those eight days.

Not to mentioned she'd be working with him on a full time basis in a little more than a week, so she figured she'd better get used to him, fast.

And an eight day road trip would be good practice.

It had been a week since their shopping adventure, and the new team of Teen Titans had spent that week with a licensed driving instructor qualifying to drive and getting official licenses, something that none of them had figured they'd ever actually need.

Thankfully, several, like Jinx, had had previous driving experiences.

Jinx grinned a little to herself at the thought. She was no stranger to grand theft auto, and had had plenty of time to refine her driving skills while under pursuit by the Jump City police.

But regardless, she took a certain satisfaction in acquiring an official, legal license (in a legal manner) and she very much hoped that every good dead she did from here on out would offer a similar feeling.

She was on the good side now, so it had better feel nice doing the right thing, otherwise life was going to suck.

Jinx glanced around the enormous, dark blue 2011 Chevy Suburban at each of the Titans that occupied it: Kid Flash, who was driving, Argent who sat immediately behind her, Jericho next to Argent, and Hot Spot and Herald sitting in the third row behind them.

And even with all six Titans having plenty of seating room, the Suburban still had the space in the back to fit all their luggage quite comfortably, behemoth of a car that it was.

The Suburban was part of the reason it had taken them a week to qualify for their licenses. The car was so big that Robin had allotted them that much time (being the master of strategy that he was) to completely learn and be comfortable with the massive vehicle before ever putting them on the road.

So, renting the Suburban out at the outset of driver training, the six Titans had practiced driving exclusively in the very same vehicle they all rode in now.

A car that Kid Flash had affectionately named Charlene.

Jinx glanced at Kid Flash, who was wearing the sunglasses he had bought with the bright orange lenses, then down at the map book of California that she had in her lap, examining the page closely. The team had map books for each state they would be in along their planned route, and had outlined on a large, full country map the zigzagging path that they would ultimately take. The trip was slated to be so long, that a direct route made no sense, so the crazy red line of their trip wasn't so ridiculous at all. In fact, their very first chosen destination, The Grand Canyon, was off shooting in the wrong direction entirely from their final destination.

And, of course, the moment that Jinx had volunteered the be the first navigator and caretaker of the maps, Kid Flash had volunteered the be the first driver

"Charlene…" Kid Flash said, bringing Jinx out of her momentary reverie, "I love you to death, but you are one _slow_ bitch…"

"She is _not_!" Argent came to the defense of the car. "We're going, like, a hundred kilometers an hour!"

"We use _miles_ in this country," Kid Flash laughed. "May I please see your green card, lady?"

"Suck it, Flash," Argent grinned wickedly, making her right hand into a fist, and forming some of her red energy around it. "I'll show you my red card if you'd like."

"You wouldn't dare!" he shot back. "I'm the driver! If I go down, I'm taking you with me!"

"Ha!" Argent replied grinning wider. "I'm wearing a seatbelt and I have a death wish to satisfy. You want to bloody dance, let's go, Kid."

"Don't make me pull this car over!" Kid Flash exclaimed, eyes never leaving the road. "I _will _do it!"

Argent looked like she was about to respond, when her eyes darted out of her window and instantly lit up with mischievous excitement.

"Punch buggy yellow!" She sang happily, dissipating the energy around her hand and violently right hooking the closest person to her.

Jericho had just quietly been minding his own business, fiddling absent mindedly with the small digital camera that he was planning on documenting the trip with, when he took Argent's sucker punch straight to his right shoulder.

Hot Spot, having witness the whole thing, started laughing so hard he nearly choked on the Dr. Pepper he was drinking. It was so bad that Herald had had to stop reading the book on sign language he had purchased at the book store to courteously pat Hot Spot on the back to get him breathing right again.

Flinching and giving Argent a somber look of 'why me', Jericho rubbed his shoulder trying to get the feeling in his arm back.

Argent simply smiled and victoriously pumped her first in the air. "First victim!"

"Jesus, Spotty, don't die back there…" Kid Flash said. "Oh and Argent, I humbly and sincerely retract my green card comment. Please don't hurt me…"

"Yeah, you'd better behave yourself, Flash," Jinx said idly, pretending she was reading the map. "Or I'll sic Argent on you."

"You girls are all in cahoots with each other," Kid Flash stated. "This conspiracy will not stand!"

"Wanna bet, pal?" Jinx grinned at him.

"Maybe I'll bet when we get to Vegas," Kid Flash stated. "Dudes! We're gonna go to _Vegas_!"

"You're not even old enough to gamble." Jinx sighed.

"I never said anything about legally gambling…" Kid Flash muttered, quietly.

"Hey Argent," Hot Spot began, having recovered from his laughing and choking fit. "Punch buggy isn't a fair game to play with Jericho. He can't tell us if he sees them or not."

"Oh, bloody hell…" Argent looked apologetically at Jericho who was still trying to rub the feeling back into his right arm. "Sorry, then. I hadn't thought about that… Caught up in the moment, you know?"

Jericho waved her off with his working left hand, trying to communicate that it was okay and he wasn't taking anything personally.

"Tell ya what," Argent said, "We'll just put you on the honor system. We'll just have to trust that you see one of them whenever you sock somebody. I trust you."

Jericho nodded once. That seemed fair to him.

"For the love of all that's Holy, it's like driving a brick!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "It's like we're not even moving!"

Jinx glanced up from the map. "If you not enjoying yourself, I'm sure someone else would like to drive."

"Hell yeah, I would!" Hot Spot said from the back. He was slated to be the second driver, anyway, and he was just waiting for a chance to get behind the wheel of the Suburban on the open highway.

Sixty miles per hour was sure as hell fast for him in a car, even if he could personally fly faster.

Suddenly, Jericho lashed out with his left arm, punching Argent in the meat of her right arm.

"_Ow!_" she gripped her arm, massaging it. "What color was it?"

Herald looked up from his book, to see Jericho give his response in sign language.

"Red," Herald said simply looking down to resume reading.

Jericho looked thrilled and gave a thumbs up to Herald who offered a small satisfied grin, flipping to the next page of the book.

"City limits, people!" Kid Flash piped up excitedly, watching with glee as the he passed the 'Now Leaving Jump City' sign on the side of the highway. He adopted an incredibly fake super hero voice. "And the adventure begins!"

Jinx found the corner of Jump City on her map, and traced the marked route to the Grand Canyon with her finger. In just a couple hours, they'd be there.

Jinx suddenly felt an unexpected swell of excitement.

Kid Flash was right. The adventure was beginning.

"On second thought, Jericho," Argent grimaced, still massaging her arm. "Maybe we should just play corners…"

Author's Note:  
Well, hell. I'm back! Upon reviewing this story, my most popular on FanFiction, I was amazed. While not my best prose by a long shot, this is the best dialogue I've ever written. Easily. I had so much fun rereading The Third Team, that I fell back in love with the story I devised when I was writing it two years ago. So, here I am. And I'll try (really, I will) to update at least once a week from here on out. I had so many ideas and so much planned for this story, that I hope I can remember what they all were. I will warn readers that the story is a Drama. It is, I promise. The simple fact is the characters themselves are funny. I'm just writing what I saw in the show. When they get to Obsidian City and start fighting crime, this story will become quite dark. The characters will still be who they are, but the circumstances will change. Just a warning. Anyway, than you all so much for reading, and especially those of you who have been on board for these few years. Just keep in mind that I haven't written in a while and it could take me a bit to get the magic back. Be patient! I'll try my hardest! And when I get a new computer, I'll go back through the first fifteen chapters and clean them up a bit. I was a little unhappy with the amount of typos…

Anyway, hit that review button and let me know what you're thinking! I'd love to hear it. And thanks again for all your support.


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